THE PARENTS of 21 nursery pupils are lobbying education chiefs after their youngsters were refused places in the school of their choice.

The children, who are currently attending the nursery at Westgate Infants School, will be unable to move into a reception class at the same school in September - and have instead been allocated places at other Otley schools.

Under Otley's schools reorganisation, the school will undergo a change of character and become a primary school.

Older children will be moved in from other schools, and only one new reception class will go into the school this year, instead of the usual two.

As a result, not all of the 78 youngsters currently in Westgate's nursery will be able to attend the school.

Some parents questioned the allocation system, and say they or their child carers may find it difficult to travel to a school on the other side of town.

They are calling on Education Leeds chief executive Chris Edwards to meet them.

Westgate Infants teacher Gillian Mullens says her own son is one of those refused a place.

He has instead been found a place at Ashfield Primary School.

She said: "If I had wanted him to go to Ashfield, I wouldn't have let him have five terms to make friends here.

"I started trying to tell him, but he was too distressed."

She said parents would have been happier to see their children in a temporary classroom at Westgate then torn from their new friends to be placed at another school.

Nursery nurse Caroline Eley, who has worked at Westgate for 11 years, was also told her child will not be able to attend the school.

She said: "They are pushing a green travel plan, but then send children to schools two to three miles away.

"All parental choice has been taken away."

They say the allocation system does not take into account some of the children on Bradford Road, who are being sent across the river to The Whartons.

The parents say they will take up the matter with ward councillors and MP Harold Best.

Head teacher Ann Lister said she understood why parents were angry and disappointed.

She said: "In particular, I am devastated that two key members of my staff have not had places allocated for their children.

"These are part-time working mothers, both in job share situations, something Education Leeds purports to support, who have had their employment threatened by a blinkered and punitive decision."

Deputy chief executive of Education Leeds, Deborah Hibberd, said that the proper administrative procedures had to be followed. She said she felt that was the only way to be fair to everybody in the town.

She said: "We understand the concerns of people who have been affected by the reorganisation, but the proper admission procedures have to be followed in order to be fair to everybody.

"Where there are applications to a school which is over-subscribed, certain criteria are taken into account, such as whether the child has any siblings there are, and how far they live from the school."