mailonsunday - Twin girls born either side of midnight to be split up in school - because they fall in different academic years

As twin girls, the parents of one-week-old Lexus and Amber Conway expected them to share everything as they grew up.
But the possibility they will be separated for much of their formative years is already hanging over the pair - and all because they were born either side of midnight.
The girls were born just 45 minutes apart on the the night of August 31, but one arrived before it officially became September 1 and one after.
A matter of minutes means they are now facing being separated at school because their official birthdays fall either side of the division for academic years.

Unique: Newborn twin girls Lexus (left) and Amber face being schooled apart because they were born on either side of the cut-off date for academic years
Under the current rules, Lexus would be able to go to school aged four but because she was born slightly later, Amber would have to wait until she was five.
Their parents, Sarah Conway and Ian Caldwell, however, are determined they will not be split up and plan to fight for the next four years to prevent it.
Miss Conway said: 'Doing everything together is what being a twin is all about. How could I keep one at home and send one to school?
'I've been told this is a really unique case and I'm going to fight to make sure they go to school together even if it takes me the next four years.'
The 37-year-old administrator gave birth to Lexus naturally at 11.40pm on August 31at the Barratt Maternity Unit in Northampton.
Amber was delivered by Caesarean section just 45 minutes later but by that time, it had become September 1.
'The midwife said it was the first time she had ever heard of this happening to twins,' Miss Conway, from Northampton, said.
'It's such a shame for the girls, especially as Amber only missed the cut-off point by a matter of minutes.
'We tried to persuade the registry office to give them both August 31 as their birthdays but they said there was no leeway.'

Determined: Parents Sarah Conway and Ian Caldwell plan to fight to ensure their daughters can go to school at the same time
Mr Caldwell, who is also a twin, said they would teach the girls at home or move to Spain if they cannot start school together.
'My family live in Spain and they have a different academic year so we'd rather move out there than split up the twins,' his girlfriend added. .
Keith Reed, chief executive of the charity The Twins and Multiple Births Association, said this was the first case of its kind he had ever heard of.
'It's highly unusual for twins to be born in separate school years and I hope the local authority gives due regard to the individual needs of the children and family involved,' he said.
Northamptonshire County Council, the family's local authority, have also never encountered such a scenario before.
A spokesman said: 'We will need to look into this nearer the time Lexus and Amber are due to start school as part of their overall application for a school place.
'Any decision made will be in the best interests of both children as well as taking into consideration the wishes of the parents.'

dailymail - Twins sent to different primary schools a mile apart as council refuses to consider their 'special bond'

They have been side-by-side since before birth, and have so far done everything together.
But on their first day at school, Connor and Brad Terry might have to go it alone, after authorities ordered the three-year-old twins to attend different primaries.
Connor was given the last remaining place at their mother Samantha's first choice of school, and his brother has to go to a school one mile away.
Separated at three: Samantha Terry's twins Brad and Connor will start school in September but have been put in different schools
Miss Terry, 40, is battling to overturn the decision she fears will 'devastate' the small boys. Born 24 minutes apart, Connor and Brad are virtually inseparable. Their mother said: 'I was on hot coals waiting to hear where the boys would be placed in their first schools.
'I wouldn't mind not getting my first choice - but to read they would go to completely different schools - I just thought there was some mistake.
"I chose that school because the boys go to a nursery on the same complex.
"For pure continuity reasons I wanted the children to go there, plus it is an excellent school, I just assumed they would notice the boys were twins."I don't think that is too much to ask. Maybe I was naive but I just thought the education authority would realise they had two boys with the same surname, address and date of birth.
"Connor is very dependent on people and routine and set ways, Brad is a little more independent, I don't know how this would affect their emotional growth.
'When I was told it was not a mistake I was horrified. I cannot consider the consequences of separating the twins at such a tender age.'

Single mum Samantha wanted both Connor and Brad to go to Wainscott Primary School in Medway
Miss Terry, of Rochester, Kent, says there was no space on the application form to note a child is one of a twin pair. As a result Connor and Brad - who she wants to go to Wainscott Primary School, in Medway - were processed separately.
Connor claimed the last place while Brad was assigned to Hilltop Primary School, a 15-minute walk away.
Miss Terry, an accountant who also has a son of 20, said: 'I cannot be in two places at the same time.'
She must attend an appeal later this month to contest Medway Council's decision.
Keith Reed, chief executive of the charity, the Twins and Multiple Births Association, warned of the dangers of separating the twins.
He said: 'During the early years, there tends to be a strong bond between twins, triplets or higher multiples and separating them against their will could potentially have a negative impact on their behavioural and emotional development.'
"Other local authorities have introduced simple measures to overcome these difficulties, such as calling multiple birth families to explore their choices prior to formally sending out the results.
"Clearly the council needs to reconsider how its application process impacts on multiple birth families and seek to make improvements.
"If it feels that it is tied by legislation then it should raise the problem with the relevant Government Minister - but doing nothing is inexcusable."
Torn: Connor got the last place at Wainscott Primary, while Brad has been ordered to go to Hilltop Primary School, which is a 15-minute walk from his brother
A Medway council spokesman said the 30 places at Wainscott Primary were filled according to guidelines for over-subscribed schools.
These give priority to children with older siblings already at the school, and to those who live closest.
Brad was 31st on the list, and to give him a place 'would have denied another child with a right to a place', the spokesman said.
'The circumstances are extremely rare, and changing the application form to indicate twins or multiple births would not have prevented the same outcome,' he said.

gazette and herald - Triplets split up by a change of schools

BUSY mum Debbie Sawyer is full of apprehension once again as her triplets start secondary school.
The Gazette has followed the trials and tribulations of Charlotte, Katherine and Eddy since they were born in 1997.
The 11-year-olds are now preparing for their secondary education in September.
Mrs Sawyer, 46, of Sheldon Road, Chippenham, said: "The last time we did a piece for the paper was when the triplets were just starting Ivy Lane Primary School, which seems like a lifetime ago.
"The past six years have flown by and I cannot believe I am getting ready to wave them off to school again.
"We have had a very busy six years and the triplets have really developed into their own characters.
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"We never really planned for triplets - we just wanted a fourth child, and that child turned out to be three instead of one.
"I think the triplets are really looking forward to secondary school, just not as much as the summer holiday stretched out before them."
Mrs Sawyer has three more children - Harriet, 13, Georgina, 15 and Martin, 16.
The triplets are not going to the same secondary school.
Charlotte and Katherine will go to Hardenhuish with Georgina and Harriet and Eddy will go to Sheldon with Martin.
Mrs Sawyer said: "This will be the first time in their lives that they will go their separate ways - but it has been totally their choice.
"I said they could have full control over which school they wanted to go to and this is what they have chosen.
"I think our family was the first to have six children at the same school at the same time when they were all at Ivy Lane.
"All of my children are so widely different and I think the fact that the triplets are not identical really helps."
Mrs Sawyer, who works as a carer at the Bluebell Lodge care home, and van driver husband Colin, 49, admit that their lives are far from peaceful but they say they would not want anything to change.
Mrs Sawyer said: "We are one big happy family and I think the fact that the children don't have to attend the same school and remain so close speaks volumes.
"I am proud of all my kids and they are a credit to me."

Medwaymessenger - Mum’s fight over twins' school dilemma

It's double trouble for the mother of twin boys who are due to start primary school.
When Samantha Terry filled out the school admissions form she listed Wainscott as her first choice and Hilltop as her second for sons Brad and Connor.
But Medway Council placed Brad at Hilltop and Connor at Wainscott. It means Brad will start school in September and Connor in January.
Samantha, a single, working mother from Cliffe Road, Strood, says the situation is causing her a headache.
As a result she is appealing for a place at Wainscott for Brad.
She said:“Both of them will start school at 8.50am.
"I can’t leave one four-year-old in the playground while I take the other to school or do the same thing when I pick them up.
“It means one is always going to be late starting school and being picked up.
“I was told by someone in Medway Council’s admissions team that it doesn’t state anywhere that twins have to go to the same school but, as I pointed out to them, neither does it say they might be split up.
“There is nowhere on the form to indicate your child is a twin.
“I’ve appealed for a place at Wainscott for Brad and it will go before a panel in June, but if Brad doesn’t get a place I may have no other choice but to leave Connor at Wainscott and teach Brad at home.”
Medway Council defends decision
“The 30 places at the parent’s first choice of school were filled in line with the published over-subscription criteria, which gives priority to those children with older siblings already at the school, and to those who live closest.
“Miss Terry’s children were 30th and 31st in this list. “Consequently one child was offered a place at her second choice school.
“To do otherwise would have denied another child with a right to a place at one of these schools.
“The circumstances are extremely rare, and changing the application form to indicate twins or multiple births would not have prevented the same outcome.
“Miss Terry is appealing for a second place at Wainscott and she could additionally appeal for a second place at Hilltop.
“A further alternative is that places for both boys could be offered at one of a number of schools in the area which have available spaces.”

Daily Mail - The Devon school with an amazing 15 sets of twins ... and a set of triplets

It would be fair to say that teachers at that teachers at a Devon college and primary school have seen more than their fair share of sibling rivalry.
With 15 sets of twins and even a set of triplets between them, teachers at Chulmleigh Community College and the nearby primary school certainly have their work cut out for them remembering who is who.
The sibling symmetry has been causing some confusion at the college, because five sets of twins are identical and there is even one set of triplets, while staff at the primary school have been left befuddled over four sets of twins.
The four sets of twins bring the total to 20 sets from just 750 pupils - more than double the national average at nearly six per cent.
Head teacher Michael Johnson said: "It's amazing that we have so many twins here and triplets are even rarer. I've never come across triplets at any of the previous five schools I've worked at.
"It's an astonishing figure that's for sure, I've no idea what if anything has caused it - a bit of a strange phenomenon really."
Tom and Oliver Bradley, 12 from Winkleigh, are identical twins in Year 8 at the college.
Tom said: "People are always getting us confused, teachers especially. We get on really well and very rarely squabble."
Oliver added: "Sometimes, if I haven't done my homework, Tom gets told off about it which is hilarious although I've done a couple of detentions for him, so we're pretty much even."
For identical twins Jennifer and Rachel Manning, 16, from Witheridge, their favourite subject is PE.
Jennifer said: "People who don't really know us tend to think we're the same person but we have different personalities.
"Rachel is known as a bit of a naughty girl whereas I'm just an angel." Rachel said: "We both play rugby for Cullompton under 18s and work well on the field together.
"We get on well at home but sometimes we can spend too much time together, just don't mention boys."
Music appears to be the only similarity for non-identical twins Freddie and Tom Sasse, 14 from Burrington.
Freddie said: "I play the drums and Tom plays bass guitar. We're in a band together and seem to have a good chemistry when playing together on stage.
"Aside from that, we don't look or sound the same or even like the same subjects."
It's a similar story for Year 7 triplets Charlotte, Alex and Georgia Jones, 12, of Eggesfprd.
Charlotte said: "We're not identical and we definitely wouldn't want to be either. Although we're all very active people, we each specialise in different sports."
Georgia said: "I'm more of a girly girl whereas Charlotte could be described as a bit of a tomboy.
"We're in different classes but we all share the same group of friends which is cool. We're very close and are always talking at the same time and thinking alike."
Charlotte added: "We always know what each other is going on about and even what we're thinking sometimes.
"No one ever guesses we're related unless we tell them - strange really."

School has 20 sets of twins on the roll

Taking the register is a little more tricky, but one school is celebrating having 20 sets of twins on the roll.
The Grange School in Hartford, near Northwich, Cheshire, achieved that distinction when four new pairs enrolled this month.

The Grange School, Cheshire, says it has so much experience teaching twins that it specialises in looking after them
That means that roughly one in 28 of those attending the 1,140-pupil school in Cheshire is a twin.
The Grange says it has so much experience teaching twins that it specialises in looking after them.
Ariel Leese-Jones, whose four-year-old girls, Athena and Bianca, have just started at the school, said her daughters felt more comfortable with other twins in the playground.
"They are in the same class and this seems to have worked really well," she said. "There's been no starting-school trauma as it's been a case of waking up with your best friend then going to school with her.
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"Having said that, they are different personalities and they have also made different friends."
Stephen Bennett, the headmaster, said his staff always treated pupils as individuals and were not afraid to separate brothers and sisters if they felt they would benefit.
"Some twins, especially when starting school, seem to flourish better with the close support of their brother or sister. Others are keen to stop being one of a pair as soon as possible. Just because twins start off together, doesn't mean they remain that way.
"The golden rule, of course, is to treat them as the individuals they are. Forget they are twins, even if they look alike." But Mr Bennett admitted that teachers were sometimes baffled.
"Form teachers very rarely get the twins mixed up, but it certainly can happen.
"We have one pair of twins who are so alike that even their brother sometimes gets them mixed up."
Fees start at £6,060 a year at the school but there is a 10 per cent discount for siblings.
Nationally, there has been a steady increase in multiple births, attributed to fertility treatments such as IVF. At present, one in 34 babies born is a twin, compared with one in 52 in 1980.