EIGHT families are set to receive compensation after City of York Council was found guilty of maladministration over the allocation of places at a secondary school.

Local Government Ombudsman Patricia Thomas has recommended £250 be paid to each family for the distress and upset caused by a fiasco over admissions to Fulford School.

The Ombudsman has also said the council should offer places at Fulford to five children from the Fishergate area who were refused admission last year - or pay each family an additional £250 in compensation.

The Ombudsman's investigation was sparked last autumn by Fulford School head teacher Keith Hayton's decision to offer places to children from outside the York catchment area, ignoring those from the Fishergate area already on education authority waiting lists.

The council rescinded the head's offer, but on later legal advice allowed it to stand after all.

Four Fishergate parents complained to the Ombudsman that, if places had been available at Fulford, their children should take them because they were top of the queue. The Ombudsman said four sets of parents from outside York also complained, saying their children's hopes of attending Fulford were raised only to be "dashed in a cruel way at an open evening for prospective pupils and parents, after the children had attended an induction day at the school."

She said the parents turned up to the open evening only to find their children's names missing from registration boards.

"They were shown to the head teacher's office and given a letter informing them that the LEA could not support his offer of a place. All the complainants .. say that this had a devastating effect on them and their children."

One of the Fishergate parents, Clare Rowntree, mother of Colin -who was given a place at Millthorpe School - said today: "I am thrilled that the Ombudsman has decided to uphold the complaint against the education department and has found them guilty of maladministration.

"All our children ever wanted was a place at their local secondary school with their friends and neighbours. I am only sorry that we have been forced to go to such extreme measures to make our voices heard."

Fellow mother Adele Coupe, whose son William Campbell ended up at Archbishop Holgate School, added: "The findings of the Ombudsman are a moral victory. It confirms the view that the LEA treated parents and children of Fishergate Primary in an inappropriate and unfair manner."

Mr Hayton declined to comment on the case. The chairman of the school of governors, Jill Keen, said she had not seen the report yet and could not comment.

City of York Council's assistant director of education, Liz Jones ,said today: "We have worked very closely with the Local Government Ombudsman on this matter and accept that the admission of these five children to Fulford School last year did not on this occasion meet the high standard of care and service we would expect.

"We regret the position that parents found themselves in and we appreciate this cast doubt on the fairness and consistency of the admissions policy and process."

She added that steps had been taken to improve the admissions process and everyone should work together to ensure such situations did not arise again.