Plans to consolidate education provision in the west side of York will move forward more slowly than first anticipated.

City of York Council Education chiefs have agreed not to change admission arrangements for the three affected schools - Lowfield, Oaklands and Manor Church of England - for September 2004.

Parents, teachers, governors and pupils have been consulted on three options to tackle a reduced number of primary school age children in the west of York.

The options are: Maintain existing arrangements Merge Lowfield and Oaklands schools (1050 places), with Manor School to provide more places for pupils from Rufforth, Carr Junior and Poppleton Ousebank schools Merge Lowfield and Oaklands schools to provide 1350 pupils, with Manor School remaining at its present size

Patrick Scott, director of Education and Leisure, City of York Council, said: "The results have not been fully evaluated yet, but it's clear that most people agree the need for change, though views are divided on how it can be achieved.

"We want to get as close as possible to achieving consensus about the best way forward. Many people feel that there are alternative options which were not included in the consultation and, with that in mind, we are proposing to move more slowly than we originally intended."

A report on the options will now go to the council's Executive on 17 February, at the earliest. The report will include a summary of the consultation responses and will look at a number of other possible solutions raised during the process, in addition to the original three options.