An 80-year tradition of giving pupils at an East Lothian Catholic primary school automatic places in a neighbouring Midlothian high school is to continue despite concerns about legal challenges.

Education chiefs urged councillors to consider scrapping the 'informal agreement' to take pupils from Loretto Primary School in Musselburgh or set up a new deal after they said they could not find any evidence of a formal cross county agreement.

But a meeting of Midlothian Council yesterday heard a plea from the parent council of St Davids RC High School, in Dalkeith, to carry on the tradition as they said the Loretto students were part of the community and insisted Catholic secondary schools cast a 'wider net' when it came to catchment areas.

And the council administration's education spoke

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