PARENTS refused access to a popular primary school have lost their legal appeal to have the decision overturned.

The decision means families refused entry to Glendale Primary School, on the south side of Glasgow, will have to educate their youngest children separately from their older brothers and sisters.

Some 20 families were denied access to the new school under placing requests despite their children having siblings there - while an additional 20 were refused when applying for the first time.

The families argued the new school was big enough to accommodate them because a general purposes room could be used as an additional classroom.

However, Glasgow City Council argued the school was not built for the children of families who did not live in the catchment area and warned that using spare rooms was against Scottish Government guidance.

John Daly, chairman of the Glendale Parent Council, said: "Many of the families I've spoken with who'd relied on the appeals process to find a reasonable solution are shocked and deeply upset with the Sheriff's decision.

"No one can understand why the use of a general room for an extra primary classroom wasn't seen as the simple way out of this.

"Given that the new building has ample space for breakout activities, without breaking the government guidelines of 2014, it's difficult to see how the claim that they were safeguarding the learning and teaching spaces was accepted."

Mr Daly also attacked the nature of the appeals process which means parents have only discovered where their children will be going to school days before the start of the new term.

He added: "Parents have only just found out which school uniforms they need to buy for Monday and the school only now know how many classes they need to manage. It's clear the design of this appeals process is to discourage any challenges to the council's decision."

Iain Nisbet, the solicitor for some of the families, said the case highlighted the "understandable confusion" parents have over how school capacity is calculated.

He said: "If school gym halls, drama rooms and so on do not count as general purpose rooms then the Scottish Government should remove them from the list of examples in official guidance so parents know where they stand and what their children are entitled to."

However, the decision was welcomed by Glasgow City Council which has been concerned in the past that allowing additional children leads to overcrowding.

Liz Cameron, executive member for children, said: "The Sheriff has upheld the council’s position of safeguarding the learning and teaching spaces in our schools. This is the right decision for our children, teachers and schools. I know that the parents will understandably be disappointed.”

Meanwhile, a headteacher will remain at home as pupils throughout Scotland return to school tomorrow after the summer break.

Kevin McClory, headteacher of Hawick High School in the Borders, was suspended six weeks ago after complaints about his handling of staff issues.

Scottish Borders Council has refused to discuss the seasons why the 43-year-old has been suspended but have put in place temporary arrangements to ensure the school is managed while the disciplinary procedure takes its course.