The protest, organised by Zandra Carrington of the Fairford Leys Parents association, aimed to highlight the worry endured by parents in the parish, who do not know what school their sons and daughters will attend because St Mary's has become oversubscribed.

They say it is unacceptable that their children might not be able to go to the same school as their friends, and be forced instead to attend one which is not within walking distance- and they are demanding that St Mary's is expanded so it can cope with the extra numbers.

Mrs Carrington, whose three-year-old daughter Emily is due to start primary school next year, was scathing of BCC's attitude towards Fairford Leys families.

"We want to continue putting the pressure on the county council to do the right thing," she said. "They have continuously given us factually incorrect statements. They have treated us with contempt, they have told us they're not going to spend any effort on us because they have need elsewhere. So do they feel our children don't have needs of an education?

She added: "There are hundreds of parents who have contacted us about this issue so there will be an ongoing calendar of events."

However, the county council refuses to budge from their position that with surplus school places available elsewhere in Aylesbury, increasing the capacity of St Mary's would not be economical or in the best interest of the wider community.

"We don't want to spend money on creating surplus places," said Stephen Bagnall, the county council's divisional manager in children's services, who greeted the protesters on the footsteps of the county offices. "On the downside that means not every parent can be guaranteed to have a first choice place, obviously that's not what we want but its the same all over the country."

He continued that the massive population growth expected in Aylesbury meant that they are already planning for three new primary schools in Weedon Hill and Berryfields, to open before 2012, and several more will follow in the longer future. This, he argued, meant it was impossible to look at St Mary's in isolation.

Mr Bagnall added: "I think as we have said before, a particular issue with Fairford Leys was that when the school was planned the development was going to be smaller than it actually turned out."

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