Concerns over Church of England plans, to reserve one third of places at the new north Kingston school for children of Anglican families, dominated questions at a public meeting last week.

About 120 parents and local residents heard the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education and the Kingston Educational Trust (KET) outline their bids for the school, due to open in September 2015, at Fern Hill Primary School on Friday, September 24.

One parent of two children who will go to Latchmere Primary School said: “The only proposal that provides capacity and choice is the council proposal.

“Your job is to find a school that will meet the capacity issues for local children. There’s only one bid that does that.”

John Russell, speaking for the diocese, said its use of the parish system would ensure the 80 foundation places went to Anglican children in Kingston town, and the one third proportion was chosen because one third of primary places in Kingston town were at church primary schools.

He said: “We want a true local school. Foundation places will not make it exclusive – they will be for local families.”

Both Kingston College and Kingston University stressed their involvement in the KET with Kingston Council was not an attempt to increase recruitment to their institutions.

The university said it would use its culture of research to help staff at the school judge the impact of their work, while the college said that as a provider of education for 16-18 year olds it had useful experience of progress routes for young people.

The office of the schools adjudicator, which is independent of Kingston Council, is expected to decide which bid is successful by December 2010. The deadline for comments about the two sets of proposals is October 22.