Rutland's secondary schools are all full for GCSE pupils, with not one spare place currently available.

All the Year 10 and Year 11 places at the county's three secondary schools are taken, with a little bit of capacity in the lower years according to a local education authority boss.

Talking at the Rutland School's Forum last week – the body which approves school funding proposals – Rutland County Council's head of SEND, inclusion and learning, Gill Curtis revealed the shortage. She also said that the majority of applications for places at two of the three schools are from outside the county.

Across Rutland 45 per cent of secondary school applications are from pupils living outside the county. Currently at Uppingham Community College 57 per cent of applications are from out of county and the number is higher at 65 per cent at Casterton College in Great Casterton. 

UCC takes a considerable number of pupils from Northamptonshire and Leicestershire and being close to the Lincolnshire border, Casterton College takes many pupils from over the county line.

Catmose College in Oakham has 18 per cent of applications made from outside Rutland.

Gill said: "We had a meeting with the DfE (Department for Education) and they are fully aware of the situation and as usual went away from the meeting scratching their heads. We are seeing some flexibility, but in the earlier years."

There is currently space in Years 7 and 9 but the officer said these places could be taken due to families moving into new build housing.

There is currently 32 per cent capacity in early years places.

Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns (Con) said recently she has been hearing from parents who have been trying to find places at Rutland state secondary schools due to the impending rise in public school fees. The Labour government is due to bring in the increased VAT rate in January, although it may face a legal challenge.

At the meeting the school forum agreed to transfer money from the general budget into its special needs budget as costs continue to soar.

By the end of this financial year in April the school's budget could be almost £5m in deficit, as more children are requiring specialist education.

The forum, which is chaired by the executive head of Uppingham Community College Ben Solly, transferred 0.5 per cent of the budget – which equates to £160,000. This will not go very far in addressing the budget, but is all that the forum can transfer without government sign off.