A total of 93 parents made a formal objection to the admission rules they claim stop many Bovingdon children getting into their nearest secondary school - Hemel Hempstead School.

The parents were represented by qualified barrister, Richard Taylor, who lives in the High Street and offered his services because he is so appalled by the situation in the village.

He said: "The effect on the village is that in early March next year the nightmare will begin all over again when parents learn which secondary school has been allocated for their children.

"Children in this village don't get the same choice of secondary school as others simply because they live in Bovingdon."

When Bovingdon parents were told in March to send their children to Adeyfield school this September they were outraged because Hemel Hempstead school is much nearer with a direct bus link as well as a 30-year history of taking pupils from the village.

After the appeals process 11-year-olds in Bovingdon now attend no fewer than nine different schools including both of Berkhamsted's middle schools with the aim of moving on to Ashlyns when they reach 14 years.

Mr Taylor added: "They have gone far and wide from Berkhamsted to Chorleywood and different Hemel Hempstead schools as well as Kings Langley, Bucks grammar schools and private schools.

"I coach the under-11s football team in Bovingdon and currently have boys from nine different schools in the squad because of the situation.

"This causes all sorts of problems with training and fixtures, as you can imagine, because they are coming from all over the place. There is no continuity or community cohesion.

"The reason I decided to represent the parents is because this is such a mess and I believe the rules should be changed."

Although the schools adjudicator, Andrew Baxter, did not uphold the objection he did conclude his published decision by saying the concerns were reasonable and legitimate.

He went on to say Herts County Council is right to be exploring ways of improving the situation and this might have to include some local arrangement of the kind proposed by the objectors.

Mr Taylor said: "That is our only shred of comfort and we will continue in our talks with the county council and try to find a local solution.

"We tried to help out and it is very disappointing that we will be seeing parents yet again next March being allocated a school miles away from this village."