A GROUP of parents has claimed the Vale Council's school admission applications criteria will see them out of pocket and facing potential five-mile walks.

Ysgol St Baruc parents Gemma Belby, Ceriann Saunders, and Cara Davies slated the authority, after receiving letters informing them their bid to place their younger children in the same school as their elder siblings had proved unsuccessful.

The Vale Council said demand for the reception intake for a number of its Welsh-medium primary schools in September 2012 outweighed supply, and it had to prioritise children living within the catchment area of a school ahead of those with a sibling connection.

But the parents say the policy will cause problems for their children; cost families time and money with different inset days, school activities and events; and cause a logistical headache in getting to up to three schools for opening and closing times.

Mum-of-three Gemma Belby, 29, of Foster Street, said: "How am I going to be in all these places at the same time?"

Mum-of-four Ceri ann Saunders, 33, of Coldbrook Road, said: "These children are all going to be in different schools and we have to try and keep in touch with what's going on in each school."

Mum-of-four Cara Davis, 27, of Hillside Close, added: "The three Welsh schools are all so close to each other - how can you say there are catchment areas?"

Vale Council principal strategic planning officer Mike Matthews said the published policy had been in force for many years, and parents were forewarned and advised by letter that when accepting a school place for a child it did not guarantee the admission of future siblings to that school.

He said oversubscription had meant the policy needed to be applied.

"This has unfortunately led to some parents being denied places with a sibling connection at a school," he added.

"The local authority appreciates the difficulties parents may face with children attending different schools and will continue to work with them wherever possible.

"A number of options are available for parents to enable their children to attend different Welsh medium schools, as some schools have different start and finish times and run breakfast and after school clubs - the breakfast club is usually free of charge for parents."

Mr Matthews said some schools were prepared to put arrangements in place to enable affected parents to deliver a child to school early in the morning and or collect a child later in the afternoon, fully supervised, in order to accommodate a sibling pick-up at another school.

"There are sufficient places in Welsh medium schools overall to accommodate the demand in the Vale of Glamorgan area, albeit it is not always possible to meet parents’ personal preference for a particular school, particularly where a school is oversubscribed," he added.