FEWER than three per cent of secondary school pupils in Basingstoke and Deane are travelling out of the borough to go to school.

Figures obtained by The Gazette from Hampshire County Council show that last spring, 251 schoolchildren attended four schools in Winchester, Alresford and Stockbridge, which are all under Local Education Authority control.

This represents 2.86 per cent of the 8,768 secondary school-aged children living in the borough who attend a Hampshire secondary mainstream school. It does not take into account those who attend private or independent schools.

There has been a long-standing belief in Basingstoke that many parents are sending their children to schools outside the borough, but these figures show that actually, the number of children travelling further afield to gain an education is relatively low.

The data relates to information from spring 2012 and shows that 76 pupils from Basingstoke and Deane attended The Henry Beaufort School, in Winchester, 121 went to Perins School, in Alresford, eight to Test Valley School, in Stockbridge and 46 to The Westgate School, in Winchester.

For the current academic year, starting in September 2012, Hampshire County Council offered 23 places to children from the borough at The Henry Beaufort School and 26 at Perins. None were offered for Test Valley School or The Westgate School.

Tony Corish, headteacher at Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School in South Ham, said many of his pupils come from areas outside of the borough.

He added: “There are only two Catholic secondary schools in Hampshire, so we have children coming from Andover and other areas.

“It’s not an issue we are grappling with and it’s clear from last summer’s exam results that there is some real improvement in Basingstoke’s secondary schools, and parents living here have a reasonable selection of schools.”

Figures were also low for the number of students travelling out of the borough to go to college, rather than attending one of the town’s two colleges – Queen Mary’s College and Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT).

Anthony Bravo, principal at BCoT, in Worting Road, said: “It’s no surprise that students are staying here rather than choosing schools further away.

“I think there has been a perception that travelling further afield gives better provision, but this isn’t a notion that stacks up if you look at recent results.”