Children in a Norfolk village have been told they are not eligible for a free school bus pass even though their older siblings living in the same house are.
The extraordinary situation has arisen in Cawston, where parents have been applying for the passes for their 11-year-old children who are due to start at Reepham High in September.
They have been told by Norfolk County Council officials that they are not in the catchment area for free passes - even though their older siblings who are already at the school have passes.
The authority says it has not changed its eligibility rules since the passes were given to the older children and has not been able to explain why their younger siblings will not receive one.
It believes an update in the software used to calculate how long it would take children to walk to school may have shaved time off the journey.
It has said it will not be revoking passes from children who already have them.
But the families are furious and say there has been no changes to the route their children will have to take - which involves an unlit footpath which runs alongside open fields under the cover of trees.
In two cases, parents have been told the walk to school is now a minute less than when it was calculated for their older children two and three years ago.
Sophie Raven's two teenage daughters have both been given free school transport within the last five years.
But her son, who lives in the same address and is due to go to Reepham High in September, has been rejected.
"This is ludicrous. None of us can understand what the reasons are. Why do the older siblings get a pass and their brother doesn't? The rules haven't changed. We haven't moved."
The 37-year-old says the walking route proposed by the council is unsafe.
“While it might be fine in the summer, when the dark mornings and afternoons get here in the winter it will be terrifying for young people to use that route," she said.
"I would never walk miles down a rural, unlit footpath in the dark on my own.”
In 2024, Allan Wright’s eldest son was also awarded a free bus pass from their address, close to the village shop.
The father-of-three has now been told his middle son will not receive one because the distance to school is 87m within the council's eligibility criteria of three miles.
The 46-year-old said: “We haven't moved. The school hasn't moved. The rules haven't changed. So what is going on?"
Carly Walton, 38, lives near the High Street, and said the decision had created unnecessary stress ahead of the move to high school.
“Half of the pupils in the village have been awarded free transport, while the other half have been rejected,” she said.
“We are talking about mere metres being the difference – less than an extra minute of walking time.
"I am trying to get my son ready for the high school transition and this has just added to the stress of everything for both of us. It's completely unnecessary."
A council spokesman said: “Any parent who has transport refused can appeal the decision through the home to school transport appeals process if they wish.”
Sanders Coaches has confirmed that an annual pass for that particular route would cost £795 per person.
A weekly pass, which the children would need for 38 weeks during the school calendar, would be £14 per week, for a total of £532 per year.
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