PARENTS are celebrating after hearing their children have places at schools in their catchment area after all.

“It’s a massive result,” said one parent yesterday after receiving the good news in an email from Brighton and Hove City Council.

It said his daughter would definitely be given a place at a school near her home.

It follows a council U-turn last week which led to a unanimous vote to approve the necessary funding and building works to allow children in the Dorothy Stringer/Varndean catchment area to attend one of the schools, despite missing out on a place.

Rob Woods told The Argus: “If they follow through, it’s a massive result because the children will all get to their local school.”

The email from Richard Barker, the city’s head of school organisation, said: “I am writing to you today to inform you that your child will be allocated a place at one of your catchment schools for September 2018.”

It went on: “We will use the same admissions priorities for the reallocation pool as we used with the initial allocation back in March.

“So children living in the catchment area will have a higher priority than other children.

“If you do not receive a place through the reallocation pool, the council will nevertheless ensure that you have a place at either Dorothy Stringer or Varndean through a separate process.”

Councillor Dan Chapman, chairman of the council’s children, young people and skills committee, said: “With the proposed new secondary free school not now going ahead, we have more capital funding available for the city’s existing schools.

“We will be working with our schools to manage the citywide increase in secondary pupil numbers over the next few years.”

Richard Bradford, headteacher of Dorothy Stringer School, said: “The school’s governing body have held the interests of the families in our catchment area in mind and have wanted clarity and stability throughout the long running discussions about catchment areas.

“The school is already modifying its plans for this September and is working with council officers on the necessary changes to our infrastructure.”

On Monday of last week, despite pleas from parents, the council insisted to The Argus it would not be possible to approve funds or work at Stringer in time to accommodate extra children in the coming school year.

But in tense scenes at Hove Town Hall last Thursday, Labour councillors abandoned that position and joined with Conservative and Green councillors to approve funds straight away.

Children had been assigned to schools which would mean an hour’s journey each way.

Parents said they would have to give up extra-curricular activities.