PARENTS are worried their children will be split up from their siblings under plans to scrap free school transport.

At Carterton Community College last night Oxfordshire County Council held its first in a series of talks on the home to school proposals which are set to save up to £2m by cutting free school buses for some pupils.

Currently children can get a free bus to school in their catchment area even if there are closer schools they could go to.

But under the plans the funding will be cut if parents did not choose to send their child to the nearest school, with proposals to charge eligible parents up to £584 for transport.

Brize Norton mother-of-four Sarah Webster, 40, said two of her children would end up being split up by having to go to a different school to their siblings.

Tom, 14, and William, 12, both go to Burford School but James, 10, and Matthew, nine, go to Brize Norton Primary School and their nearest school is Carterton.

Mrs Webster said: “It would cost me a fortune to keep all of the children at the same school.”

County council leader Ian Hudspeth said: “It was a really useful meeting and there were some useful comments.”

The next consultation event is at Matthew Arnold School in Cumnor on Thursday.