An 11-year-old boy has been denied entry to the school of his choice because he once attended a Catholic primary school.

Calvin Bond lives just 500 yards from the non-denominational school he wants to go to and is currently at its feeder school, which is also non-denominational.

But East Renfrewshire Council says his parents' decision to send him to a Catholic school for three years while the family lived in another part of Scotland is binding.

Instead of heading to Mearns Castle School, along with all his friends, Calvin has been offered a place at the highly sought-after St Ninian's, a Catholic secondary rated as one of the best in Scotland, as the automatic choice.

Calvin, from Newton Mearns, has Asperger's syndrome, a lifelong disability that severely affects his ability to communicate and interact. His parents, Chris Bond, a 36-year-old accountant, with no religious affiliation and his Catholic wife, Lorette, a volunteer with the National Autistic Society's education advice line, say the council policy is unlawful as it discriminates against people on grounds of religion or belief and contravenes the Equality Act 2006.

The Bonds say the issue is not about the quality or the religion of the school, but the continuity of having friends who he knows, and the proximity of Mearns Castle.

They told East Renfrewshire Council officials in an e-mail: "Religious belief was not our primary concern when placing our autistic child within mainstream education.

"By making an assumption based on one's religion you are discriminating and not treating everyone equally.

"ER (East Renfrewshire Council) cannot stipulate what religion we are or indeed why Calvin attended multi-denominational or denominational schools in the past."

They say that, as a result of Calvin's condition, any change and uncertainty can be traumatic. The family says Calvin would need to go by taxi to St Ninian's, which is two miles away, costing thousands of pounds. Calvin's transition to secondary is on hold while the Bonds put in a placing request along with the many parents from outwith the Mearns Castle catchment area.

The council rule, understood to be the only one of its kind in Scotland, states that parents make a choice about whether to choose denominational or non-denominational education at P1 in and that once that is made they remain in that sector's secondary school. Any change of sector can only be made by way of a placing request.

Calvin was not enrolled at a denominational school until P2 when the family moved to Dumbarton. During P1, Calvin was actually at the non-denominational St Charles' Speech and Language Unit in Glasgow while the family lived in Knightswood.

In an e-mail, Bob Tennant, quality development officer at East Renfrewshire Council, explains the advice provided to him by a council solicitor was that the ruling was "perfectly justifiable and in line with policy". The unnamed solicitor added: "There is no right to jump between sectors which is what the Bonds want to do, having opted originally for a denominational school."

East Renfrewshire Council spokesman Hugh Dougherty said: "This has nothing to do with religion, it is to do with our policy. It's to do with the fact we have two separate streams in our schools and we ask to choose one at the beginning. It's a policy that went through to help us manage demand in our schools.

"If they think going to the media is going to change this in any way, they are wrong."

He said Calvin could be able to get a place at Mearns Castle as there were 31 available while there was none at St Ninian's.