PARENTS in County Dur-ham are twice as likely to win an appeal if their child fails to gain a place at their first-choice school as people in a neighbouring town, latest figures show.

In Darlington, only 19 per cent of decisions concerning primary children and 31 per cent with regard to secondary youngsters are overturned following protests from parents.

In contrast, 54 per cent of parents of secondary age children and 59 per cent at primary level are successful on appeal across Durham, according to the department for education statistics.

Protests are also likely to result in a U-turn in North Yorkshire, where 58 per cent of primary school decisions and 48 per cent concerning secondary schools are changed.

And the figures are highest in Sunderland, where 76 per cent of primary appeals and 67 per cent at secondary level are successful. The national averages are only 33 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.

The figures, for the school year 2002-2003, also reveal that the highest number of appeals against admission refusals were in County Dur-ham (483) and North York- shire (448).

They were followed by Sunderland (387), Darlington (285), South Tyneside (132) and Gateshead (101). In all the areas, most appeals are at secondary level.

The number of appeals has increased since the mid-1990s as league tables and inspection reports have highlighted big differences between the "best" and "worst" schools.

"Parental panic" has been accused of wasting precious resources and leaves unpopular schools with falling rolls, the most difficult pupils and less funding.

The pursuit of places has also pushed up house prices around popular schools, as parents seek to buy into the catchment areas.

Unhappy parents can appeal to their local authority, which can set up local tribunals to review schools' admissions decisions.

Parents can even take their case to the High Court under Human Rights legislation, claiming that their right to choose the school their child attends has been infringed.

There are no standardised rules for school admissions - only guidelines given to governors and head- teachers by the Department for Education.

Factors taken into account include siblings at the school, distance from it, ease of access by public transport, feeder primaries and class sizes.

Figures show that Stockton (73) and Hartlepool (64) still have relatively low numbers of parental protests.

Middlesbrough had only 36 at secondary level, with 70 in Redcar and Cleveland.

However, no figures were available for primary schools in either authority.