ALL 45 appeals for admission into South Craven School, Cross Hills, have been abandoned and all children allocated a place.

The news comes after the Craven Herald revealed that some parents were planning a legal challenge to the process.

Now meetings are to be held between North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority, and the school to see how it will find additional space and finance for the extra 45.

The admissions limit of 275 places has already been stretched, and will have to expand even further for the year seven intake.

A number of appeals were from children outside the catchment area who had opted out of the 11 plus examination, putting South Craven School as their first choice.

Some were seeking a judicial review, arguing those who chose a grammar school first, failed the entrance exam and were then allocated a place at South Craven were in effect given two choices.

The abandonment of all appeals will end that legal challenge.

But protestor Lorna Palmer warned the problem would not go away until the system changed. "We are still working towards getting the issue before a judge," she said.

Campaigner Graham Hitchin said the implications of the move were significant, and showed there was something wrong with the system. He claimed it could have wider implications, with parents who put South Craven and Upper Wharfedale as their first choice potentially having precedence over those who put a grammar school as their preference.

South Craven headteacher Andrew Cummings admitted that the school was "concerned" about the unexpected influx.

But he added: "We are delighted that so many parents have chosen South Craven and we will do everything we can to ensure that all children have access to the highest quality education.

Chairman of the governors Iain Harris added: "Having such a large entry into year seven will be a challenge but I am confident that our excellent senior management team and staff will be able to meet these difficulties."

A spokesman for the county council said: "The appeals panels are independent of the local education authority and their proceedings are governed by a statutory code of practice.

"In deciding appeals, the panel must follow a two-stage process. Firstly, the panel must decide, as a matter of fact, whether admitting additional children to the school 'would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources'.

"In the case of South Craven School, the panel decided that there would be no prejudice. Therefore in accordance with the code of practice, the panel allowed all the appeals, without the need to hear further submissions."