Matters are complicated by a second group of parents, which plans to bid for a non-selective free school to be established on the same site as the proposed new grammar.

ECONOMIST: Grammar schools

In reality, parents are allowed to express a preference for a school but children within the catchment area are usually given priority in the allocation of places, assuming the school is non-selective.

BBC: News | Features | Choosing a school: the reality

The new school, for pupils aged 11 to 19, will be non-selective and will open in September 2014.

BBC: Eton to sponsor Berkshire free school