PARENT power won the day this week after county councillors took heed of a 7,000-strong petition seeking the reversal of new nursery and primary admission rules which looked set to divide families.

The rules, which were introduced last year, gave children living close to their chosen school preference over those with brothers or sisters already at the school.

The effect of this change in policy was played down by the council, which believed it would adversely affect only a tiny minority of families.

Parents, however, argued the new rules had far wider implications for those families with children already in school.

Spelling out these concerns to members of Hertfordshire County Council's education committee on Wednesday was Mr Oliver Hyams, representing the First Steps Action Group.

Before officially presenting the 7,000-strong petition, he informed councillors that transporting children to more than one school each morning would be a logistical nightmare for parents.

By ensuring that one child got to school on time the other would always be late, the result, parents breaking the law 'day after day', he said.

Adding that the burden of providing support to two primary schools was too much for most families, he urged councillors 'not to leave the rules as they are'.

Vice-chairman of the education committee Julian Taunton acknowledged parents' concerns.

He said: 'These rules would add to road congestion and result in a loss of sibling support, while parents would have the difficulty of supporting more than one primary school and after-school activities would be curtailed.'

These comments received cross-party support from committee members and, in this mood of compromise, councillors agreed in principle to reverse their earlier decision.

This means that parents applying for nursery and primary school places for September 2001 will have their applications considered using the old rules, giving siblings priority for places once more.

For legal purposes, however, this decision must be ratified by the Government's independent adjudicator, who will announce his decision in the next six weeks.

For parents with children joining nursery schools this September, who have already been allocated places under the new rules, these decisions still stand.

Meanwhile, councillors agreed to consult widely with parents and schools to develop an acceptable primary and nursery admissions policy for September 2002.

This will come as good news to Mr Paul Hier, 32, and his wife Zoe, 34, of Toms Lane in Kings Langley.

Their daughter Bethany, aged five, attends Kings Langley Primary School in Common Lane, Kings Langley.

Their son, Thomas, aged three, was refused a place in the school's nursery this year and, under the new rules, looked unlikely to be educated alongside his sister.

The reprieve offered by the council this week should allow Thomas and Bethany to go to school as a family.