Residents plagued by school-run traffic have lashed out at a South London private college after it sold the headteacher’s parking space to parents for £5,000.

People living near Dulwich Prep School say the stunt at a charity auction shows the school isn’t serious about reducing tailbacks caused by parents taking and collecting their kids from school. 

The school, which charges up to £7,300 per term, reportedly offered use of the parking space on Alleyn Park in West Dulwich for one year at a charity ball on June 18.

Local residents, who say they have put up with bottleneck traffic from parents’ cars for years, blasted the move as “disappointing.” 

They say many kids at the school live outside the area and can’t walk or cycle to school and instead have to rely on their parents collecting them.

Come home time, the streets around Dulwich are brought to a standstill by parents collecting their kids in cars. 

Chris Langon, who lives near the school, told Brixton Buzz: “The build up of traffic around the local streets is ridiculous at drop-off and pick-up times.

"Lots of drivers sitting in traffic, blocking our driveways.

"I feel a lot more could be done by the schools.”

Claire McDonald from Sustainable School Run, which encourages parents not to drive thier kids to school where possible, said schools like Dulwich Prep needed to take responsibility for the traffic problems in the area. 

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said: “We are drowning in traffic.

"The ULEZ has meant nitrogen dioxide has reduced by 22 per cent in London, but this area hasn’t benefited at all.

"We’re really suffering and we know the cause, the visual evidence is clear. 

“In non-catchment school term-time there is a massive rise in traffic locally – we’re gridlocked.

"When those schools break up, but catchment schools are still in, the roads are clear.

"We also have data from Transport for London that illustrates the same thing. We need something to be done.

“We feel it’s completely inappropriate to be making us and our children suffer the impact of their business model, which relies on pupils coming in from further away to increase their customer base.”

Ms McDonald is encouraging private schools in the area to sign-up to an agreement committing them to informing parents about alternative options for the school-run.

Only one school, £23,000 per year Dulwich College, has taken the group’s recommendations so far but she is hoping more will follow.

She added: “We are very grateful to Dulwich College for being so forward-looking and taking on our first recommendation, which is implementing the technology that gives parents more options.

"We look forward to the other schools doing the same thing.”

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