PARENTS who applied for their children to go to a Hampshire secondary school that is set to be merged will get the chance to change their application, the Daily Echo can reveal.

As reported yesterday, education bosses at Hampshire announced that a consultation would be launched to close The Quilley School and merge it with Crestwood College two miles away.

The plan was revealed less than two weeks after the deadline closed for prospective students to apply for a place next September.

It drew criticism from some parents who said they were not told of the plan before they had to decide on a school place.

One parent, who asked not to be named, said: “This plan must have been in the pipeline for some time, so why is it they are only informing parents after the deadline for applications has past? That is totally unfair as parents were making a decision based on the school they thought they were getting and not on the one they will be getting.”

But when questioned by the Daily Echo education chiefs have said they will allow parents of children who listed Quilley as one of their preferred schools the opportunity to resubmit their application.

A spokesman said: “Detailed conversations with the governing bodies of both schools began in the autumn term but they did not conclude until very recently.

“The County Council is aware of the implications of the October 31 admissions deadline and will ensure that parents who have listed Quilley as a preference have the opportunity to reconsider their application.

“A specific window of opportunity will be announced, through which they will be able to make revised applications using a paper application form. For technical reasons it is not possible to reopen the online process. The timetable that is applied will allow for resubmitted applications to be considered in exactly the same way as all other on-time preferences.”

Responding to criticism that parents of prospective students were not informed until after the deadline, the spokesman said: “Deciding to consult on the amalgamation of two secondary schools, with the closure of one, is a significant decision that cannot be made lightly or without a number of conversations with governing bodies and headteachers.

“It was more important to get this right than to rush the dialogue in order to make an announcement before the admissions deadline. The county council knew it would be able to re-open the admissions round for affected families and to ensure that they had good and clear information on the future plans in order to make an informed decision.”

It is not clear whether parents of prospective Crestwood pupils will also be allowed to resubmit their preferences but anyone who is concerned can contact the admissions team at the county council.

As reported yesterday, a consultation will begin next Tuesday into the proposal to merge Quilley with Crestwood, both currently rated as "good" by Ofsted – the schools' watchdog. The move was tabled due to recent poor exam results at Quilley and falling pupil numbers which meant fewer than half the number of pupil places were filled on roll.

The plan is for Crestwood College to take over the site with bosses assuring parents that students would not have to travel between the sites during the school day.