A HIGH-ACHIEVING Muswell Hill secondary school has been accused of "hiding" places reserved for music prodigies from pupils living in the east of Haringey.

Fortismere School, in Tetherdown, reserves 24 places on its oversubscribed books especially for pupils with a talent for music which is open to Year Six pupils across the borough.

But parents in areas including Tottenham did not receive information packs explaining the offer until mid-September when the assessment process was long gone, according to MP David Lammy who has been flooded with complaints from angry parents.

Mr Lammy has accused the school and its governors of cheating pupils in his constiutency out of a place at one of the borough's best schools by failing to properly advertise the vacancies.

It is believed that only parents who live near the school, or connected in some way, were aware of the assessment process which took place last month ahead of registration in July 2011.

He said: 2A number of parents have approached me with concerns regarding the fact that the 24 musical ability places at Fortismere School were kept hidden even though they were open to all children from across the borough.

"There are some fantastically talented young musicians in the east of the borough that could have really benefited from attending Fortismere. It beggars belief that the places were not appropriately advertised so that everyone had a fair chance of getting a place."

The Labour MP added: "Music is a real success story on this side of the borough, it is incredibly disappointing that the opportunity wasn't extended properly to students from the entire borough."

Fortismere sparked outrage, in January 2009, when it launched the proposal to select ten per cent of its applicants based on musical aptitude.

Lobby group Keep Fortismere Comprehensive, set up in 2007 to contest the school's successful application for Foundation status, argued the plans would worsen inequalities in education within the borough.

To address concerns, school governors maintained that all Haringey pupils would have a shot at getting a place based on their musical ability.

The Haringey Independent is awaiting comment from Fortismere's Governing Body chaired by Jules Mason.