Angry mums and dads at Woodlea Primary School, in Fence Houses, were stunned when they received letters from Durham County Council stating their children would no longer be guaranteed places at Park View School in Chester-le-Street.

The old admissions policy places "children in care", "medical grounds" and "sibling links" as the top three criteria for school places, with the fourth being the "school within shortest walking distance" in the county.

But, after a rule shake-up, the county boundary line has been removed, which makes Sunderland's Houghton Kepier School the nearest secondary school for many of the Woodlea pupils.

Fed-up parents, attending a public meeting, said they were outraged they would be paying council tax in one county, but would have to send their children to school in another.

Worried mum Carolyn Hough, whose daughter Sam, eight, is a pupil at the school, said people just want to be given the choice of which school they send their child to.

She explained: "I moved to Woodstone Village so that Sam could go to Woodlea and eventually Park View.

"My two eldest went there so I know how good a school it is."

Children due to enter secondary education in September 2010 who live in Bournmoor, Fence Houses and Woodstone Village – which are on the Sunderland border – could all potentially be affected.

School governors have urged parents to write to the council and their local MP in a bid to have the new criteria changed.

Stacey Button, whose daughter Olivia is a pupil at Woodlea, said a number of parents had rang Sunderland City Council and were told Houghton Kepier is over-subscribed.

She said: "At the end of the day we are in County Durham, it is not Sunderland's problem. We pay our council tax to Durham County Council and it is their responsibility to provide secondary school places for our children."

Jane Cornforth, whose daughter Jessica, seven, goes to Woodlea, said: "Where are our children supposed to go? It looks as if they will be split up and put anywhere they have a space."

A spokesperson for Durham County Council, said: "Following statutory consultation, in April this year, the council's cabinet approved a set of admission criteria for all community and voluntary-controlled secondary schools in County Durham.

"Objections were received and in light of this, the Schools Adjudicator is reviewing the criteria, in other words, everything is subject to change. Until the Schools Adjudicator makes a decision, expected by mid-August, we are not in a position to comment."