Plans to change Hinchley Wood School’s admissions criteria have been branded “religious discrimination” by angry parents.

Parents fear if the proposals go ahead, children at Esher Church School, St Paul’s Catholic Primary School and those who live near the Claygate Lane school will not stand a chance of gaining a place.

Hinchley Wood School and Esher Church of England High School both want to change their catchment areas to include the whole of Claygate, with both schools currently having one side in their remit.

Under Hinchley Wood School’s plans, Claygate Primary School, Hinchley Wood Primary School, Long Ditton St Mary’s Junior School and Thames Ditton Junior School, would all become feeder schools, giving pupils priority places.

The change would mean families who live in the catchment area but chose to send their children to faith based schools will stand a lesser chance of gaining a place, with parents saying they will be “grossly discriminated against”.

Campaigners have gathered more than 500 signatures on a petition calling for Hinchley Wood School to drop the proposals and are calling on Dominic Raab, MP for Esher and Walton, to intervene.

Parents also fear their children will stand little or chance of getting into Esher C of E High School, which also wants to change its catchment area to cover the whole of Claygate.

Tim Holman, who lives in Claygate Lane, said: “As we live on the school's doorstep, we are obviously not in the catchment area for any other school. The proposals, if they go ahead, would render my children effectively stateless, and the secondary school application would be a lottery.

“It’s not our fault we are religious, so why should we be discriminated against in favour of other children? Just because a school decides to be independent or become an academy does not mean they can do as they please and ignore the academic needs of children who live nearby.

“Our only viable option to meet our children's secondary schooling needs would be to move house nearer another school that does not adopt unfair admissions criteria, should the admissions proposals go ahead.”

Cathy Bell, headteacher at Esher Church School, said: “Groups that will be unfairly disadvantaged by this proposal are families who live in Thames Ditton or Claygate who have chosen a church education for their children’s primary years.

“Families with children attending Esher Church School will be unfairly disadvantaged for a decision they made six years ago about the best primary provision for their child.”

The consultation on Hinchley Wood’s plans ends on Friday, February 21.

To view the petition, visit ipetitions.com/petition/hinchley-wood-school-proposed-changes-to.