Hundreds of parents face the terrifying prospect of their children not getting secondary school places in south west Hertfordshire.

The squeeze on school places will intensify as Hertfordshire County Council estimates show 340 children could miss out on a school place in four years, according to a Freedom of Information request from the Watford Observer.

Education chiefs insist the figures do not include plans to increase the number of places but there are two new schools earmarked in Three Rivers.

Shocked parents now fear they will be forced to teach their children at home because the number of school starters looks set to soar past the number of places available in Watford, Rickmansworth and Bushey in two years.

The statistics show in 2017, 19 children will be left without a place as 1,345 pupils vie for just 1,326 places in Watford.

But according to the predictions, the number of school places across the area will stay the same.

In three years, the authority is forecasting 1,396 pupils will need a secondary school place in Watford and in 2019, there will be a shortage of 165 places, with nearly 1,500 pupils needing a secondary school place.

Mother-of-two Renna Creighton from Croxley Green said: “These statistics are truly shocking. The council keeps saying there is nothing to worry about, but clearly there is.

“Some schools are expanding to accommodate nearby town’s shortfall of pupils, so when their siblings join the school, there is no room left for local children. This then causes even more problems in the future, as local children are having to go further afield.

“I see home learning and private schooling in people’s homes as part of our future.

“The council’s emergency solution of free schools in business parks is not good enough. They need their own land so the children can go outside easily. Playing outside is incredibly important to our children's wellbeing and education.

“It really saddens me my children will not have the privileges I had as a kid.”

In Bushey, the squeeze on school places will start a year earlier than Watford and Rickmansworth, with demand outstripping the number of places by 12 next year.

The following year, education bosses predict there will be 724 pupils needing a secondary school place in Bushey and in 2018/19, 752 will need a secondary school place. In 2019/20, there will be 675 school places but there will be demand for 779 places.

In Rickmansworth, there will be shortage of 19 places in 2017, 58 places in 2018 and 52 places in 2019.

Mother-of-three Susan Gaszczak, of Benskin Road, Watford, said: “The situation in Bushey, where my daughter starts this September, is horrific in the future, especially as this is the last year Bushey Academy will take the extra class in year 7.

“Watford, however, is not helped by the two-tier education system. Children from outside the county clammer to get into the entry-based system, and even though we live just 800m from a school, my daughter did not get a place.

“The county council and the Tory government have wiped their hands of school places. It is a disgrace and they need to start listening now.”

Two new schools are proposed in Three Rivers – one in Croxley Green and one in Maple Cross – but planning applications have not been submitted for either.

Councillor David Williams, cabinet member for education at Hertfordshire County Council said: “There is a relationship between Rickmansworth, Watford and Bushey in terms of school place provision as parts are geographically close and pupils move between them to attend secondary school.

“The county council has worked closely with Three Rivers District Council to secure appropriate education site allocations as part of its Local Plan in order to meet the forecast demand for the wider area.

“Croxley Green Secondary School has gained approval from the Department of Education to establish a new secondary school from September 2017.

"The county council is facilitating this process by undertaking the necessary work to acquire a suitable site for a school.

“In addition, we are looking at whether any existing schools could be enlarged to meet the need across the area.”

In Hemel Hempstead, which includes Kings Langley Secondary School, there are set to enough places until 2019, when 19 children will be without a school place.