CONTROVERSIAL plans for what has been described as a "two tier" schools admissions policy for Ingleby Barwick have been abandoned.

Stockton Borough Council's proposal to create a Zone B, or second priority, catchment area in The Rings and Broom Hill areas of Ingleby Barwick for the oversubscribed Egglescliffe School have been halted after the council received 850 responses from members of the public.

Instead it is hoped more capacity can be found at the school, although no details have yet been issued about how that will happen. A borough-wide review of school capacity and admissions will take place next year.

The controversy arose because it was hoped a new free school in Ingleby Barwick, offering 120 places, would take some pressure off schools in the Yarm and Eaglescliffe area, as well as the All Saints School in Ingleby Barwick itself.

Last year, parents from villages to the west of Eaglescliffe, including Stillington, Long Newton and Carlton, were upset because they could not get their children into Egglescliffe.

Other schools in the area, including Conyers in Yarm and All Saints, are not under direct local authority control and so can set their own admissions policy, independent of the council.

Cllr Ann McCoy, Stockton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, thanked everyone for taking part in the consultation process and said: “We extended the consultation period to allow as many people as possible to have their say and having listened very carefully we are now proposing that these changes are not taken forward.

"This reflects the wide range of differing opinions about the proposals, both at public meetings and through consultation responses.

"The consultation also revealed a preference for the proposed arrangements to instead be looked at in the context of the Borough-wide review planned for next year and which would come into effect from 2017/18 onwards.

“However, we also acknowledge that Egglescliffe remains a very popular school and have held early discussions with its headteacher about working together to ensure the school has the capacity to accommodate demand for places in 2016. We are now proposing to develop this work further and in more detail.”

Louise Baldock, Labour candidate for Stockton South in the forthcoming General Election, has campaigned on the issue.

She welcomed the news and said: "It is right that no changes should be made in isolation, as I said in my formal response to the consultation, any future review needs to look at the catchment area for all schools simultaneously so that no pupils are put at an immediate disadvantage”.

James Wharton, Conservative MP for the area, has previously argued against the proposals.