LUCY Calvert and Lucy Scott are the best of friends.

They live just yards from each other's home in Elvington, went to the same toddlers' group, then playgroup and now they sit next to each other in the village primary school.

And just like other youngsters in the community, come September 1999, the two nine-year-olds hope to be starting Fulford School together.

However, if planned changes to the way secondary school places are allocated get the green light, their parents, along with many others in the village, could face an agonising decision which may see countless bosom buddies going their separate ways.

Education bosses at City of York Council claim the review of admissions is needed because of an inherited mish-mash of systems.

Parents have four options to consider:

* to leave things as they are;

* to let parents apply to any secondary school;

* to divide the council's area into three zones, linking primary schools to two or more secondary schools;

* to link primary schools to specific secondary schools.

Whatever the outcome of the review, Elaine and Rob Scott are likely to be able to send their daughter to Fulford because she has an older sister already there. But for Ian and Gillian Calvert, securing a place at Fulford for their daughter, Lucy, would be unlikely if options three or four are introduced because she is their eldest child.

The difficult decision for the Scotts will be whether to send Lucy to Fulford to be with her older sister, or, as Lucy herself wants, to the same school as her closest friend.

Mrs Scott said: "It is just such a shame we will have to make such a decision. I don't want to split Lucy from her friends, but, at the end of the day, I want her to go to Fulford."

As young Lucy Calvert herself said: "If my friend goes to Fulford and I go somewhere else she might make lots of new friends and might not speak to me again." At the same time, campaigners fighting the proposals claim while families like the Scotts have a tortuous decision, they at least have greater choice than neighbouring families like the Calverts.

And while some children in Elvington will still go to Fulford and others will be forced to go elsewhere in York for their schooling, some parents are even vowing to send their offspring to school's in neighbouring authorities.

Campaigners believe school friends will go their separate ways, families will no longer socialise together and the strong sense of community spirit in Elvington will be lost.

Andrew Hansed, chair of Elvington Community Action Group, said: "Many residents feel the city council has no regard for the effect the changes will have on a small community outside the old city boundaries.

"Children who have been together since playgroup and who are long-standing friends and neighbours will find themselves split into three or four small groups who are transported off each day in various directions."

Beverley Scanlon, principal planning officer with the city council's education department, said it was too early to comment on individual cases.

She said sibling relationships were not necessarily the key criterion in admissions policy and it was by no means certain the girls would be unable to attend the same secondary school.

She said: "We are looking at admissions policy across the whole of the city. Obviously, there are issues like this coming out. We need to hear as many stories like this as we can, so that members can make the decision on the admissions policy for use which is fairer to the greater number of pupils."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.