Disappointed parents from the villages of Dunnington and Elvington have asked for a meeting with education chiefs after the final decision was made on a new system of secondary admissions for York.

The meeting of the City of York Council last night backed the decision made by last week's education committee to take the two villages out of the catchment area for Fulford School.

The changes will see each secondary school in York having its own catchment area from September 2001. Parents will still be able to express a preference.

Parents from the villages were at the meeting as well as parents from the Fishergate area, which will now fall into the new Fulford catchment.

Governor Sarah Busby, from Fishergate, urged councillors to link Fishergate with Fulford as it was their nearest school.

Dunnington parent governor Tony Walmsley told councillors he was a Labour party member and was very concerned about the effect of the decision to move the villages out of the Fulford catchment would have on future elections.

Coun Charles Hall, Liberal Democrat education spokesman, called for a last-minute change in the proposals.

He said 83 per cent of parents in the villages who responded to the consultation had been unhappy with the proposal and said it would be possible for Fulford School to accommodate both the village children and Fishergate children.

He was backed by Conservative spokesman Coun Gerald Dean.

But his proposal was defeated by one vote - the Labour group's majority on the council.

Afterwards Mr Walmsley said: "Obviously, we're disappointed. We're still carrying on and we have got to have a clear view as to what the effects are going to be. We want clear facts and figures."

He said he wanted to issue an open invitation to education chairwoman Coun Janet Looker and Michael Peters, director of educational services, to discuss transitional arrangements, which will be in place until 2005.

Coun Looker and Mr Peters both said they would be happy to meet with the parents.

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