Primary schools are to be linked with specific secondary schools in a shake-up of York's education admissions system.

Councillors last night voted in favour a new catchment-style system which will link each of the city's primary schools with a chosen secondary school.

During consultations nearly three quarters of parents who responded opposed this option.

But the council said out of the five choices it received 28 per cent of the parental support, the highest overall.

It will mean that in cases of over-subscription to a secondary school, children who live within the catchment area of its sister primary school will be given priority for a place.

The option will be phased in over the next three years to allow parents time to adjust time and to bring all York schools up to the same standard.

Special consideration will be taken of the concerns of parents of pupils at Dunnington and Elvington School who fear their children will be sent to Archbishop Holgate School instead of Fulford School.

More than 50 parents attended last night's meeting of the City of York Council's education committee at All Saints School, Nunnery Lane.

Mother-of-two Beverley Flatt, whose seven-year-old attends Elvington School, and where her three-year-old is due to go, said she thought Option 4 was the "best out of a bad bunch".

She said: "We moved from Leeds to Elvington so our children would attend Fulford - now we do not know if that will be the case."

Father-of-two Andrew Hansed, whose two children attend Elvington School, said he hoped parents living in Dunnington and Elvington would be consulted before any firm decision on which schools will be linked is made.

Among the other options were to keep the present system based on the old city boundaries; let parents apply to any school - which legally they can still do - and option three would divide the city into zones.

Committee chairman Janet Looker said the change was necessary, but agreed that the three-year "transitional" period was crucial to "iron out some of the option's problems".

A City of York Council spokesperson said that the feeder option would be the basis for future school admissions policy.

"Parents will still have a right to choose where they want to send their children in the way they have always done. We are not saying you must go here and you must go there. This option will only come into force where there is over-subscription at a school."

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