The threatened closure of a girls' school is being blamed for children failing to get into schools of their choice.

Cherwell School in north Oxford and Cheney School at Headington have been swamped with requests for places and some children have been turned away.

The reason, say parents, is that families are reluctant to send their daughters to Milham Ford School in Marston Road, which is due to close as part of the switch to two-tier education in the city. New Marston children denied places at Cheney and Cherwell include Roy Peach, 13, of William Street, and Shervin Chasebi, 12, Juba Lakrimi, 12 and Matija Reljic Djuric, 12, all of Weldon Road.

They have been offered places at Oxford School, off Cowley Road, which their parents complain is lower in schools league tables and involves taking a dangerous and busy route by bicycle, or paying 23 a month for a bus pass.

Roy's mother, Linda Peach, said: "With the threat of closure of Milham Ford, girls who would normally go there are opting to go to Cherwell and Cheney and the places that would perhaps have come our way are going to the girls.

"Cherwell and Cheney are only five minutes away and there is a really good, safe cycle track to get to Cherwell."

Shervin's mother, Ann Chasebi, said she did not want her son to go to Oxford School. She added: "We are trying to find another school. I would like my son to go to Milham Ford because it is the closest and I don't see why it has to be single-sex. Oxfordshire County Council says more pupils got their first choice of schools this year than last.

In 1999, 89 per cent of pupils got their first choice of upper school and the figure is 91 per cent this year.

John Mitchell, Oxfordshire education spokesman said: "Great play has been made of the closure of Milham Ford, but any link with that and this situation is tenuous.

"If anyone is unsuccessful in obtaining their first choice of school, we deeply regret that."