THE possibility of a referendum to decide on the catchment area of Sir William Borlase's Grammar School, in Marlow, has been welcomed by campaigners.

Wycombe district councillor Tony Dunn has suggested that a solution to the problem of children in Marlow missing out on a place at Borlase's could be taken to the town.

For the past five years, pupils who live in the town and have passed their 11-plus have been told that there is no place for them at the West Street school and are instead being bused out to grammar schools in Chesham and Aylesbury.

The appeals for places issue began after the school opted out of local authority control and extended its catchment area to include Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

The move has essentially given the coveted school the cream of the crop in 11-plus students in its catchment area.

Cllr Dunn said: "I wonder if the solution is for the governors formally to ask the residents whether they prefer the school to concentrate on academic achievement by creaming off the top pupils from a wide catchment area, or instead be the community grammar school."

Peter Nicholls, whose daughter is about to go through the appeals process, said: "I think it would be a positive move.

"For it to happen we would need support from the governors that they will take notice of the results."

Verity Walker, spokesman for families in the town going through the appeals process, said: "It sounds like a good first step."

She added: "If this could change things in the future that would be a good thing."

The chairman of the school's governors was not available for comment.