Three girls who were denied places at a Derry secondary school finally began their lessons there yesterday following a court battle.
Parents of the three had sought a judicial review of the Department of Education decision to withdraw offers of places at St Cecilia's College in the city.
The school blamed pressure on class numbers for the decision, but parents claimed that others admitted were from nearby Co Donegal and were using relatives' addresses in Derry, a procedure known locally as "grannying", to secure places.
The ruling was issued by Mr Justice Weatherup at the Belfast High Court, prompting governors at St Cecilia's to claim that the effects of the ruling would be felt on both sides of the Border. It was also claimed that legislation may be needed to help decide who does and does not gain admittance to schools.
Niall McAteer, spokesman for the governors, claimed the school always wanted to accommodate the three girls. He said the judgment would have far-reaching consequences.
"It doesn't just affect schools and education, it also affects a number of other public services. The implications of this are only just beginning."
He added: "The reality is that we are going to need an awful lot of extra guidance and resources. It will mean a lot of work for a number of public bodies and we will need guidance on that."
Kathleen Gormley, principal at St Cecilia's, said she was happy for the three girls. She felt sorry for the parents and for the school governors who, she said, "had put their conviction on the line and tried to do the right thing for the children of St Cecilia's and for the culture and ethos of the school". The father of one of the girls said he was "over the moon, overjoyed".
Ivan McMichael adds: Mr Justice Weatherup said he wanted to commend Mrs Gormley for the forthright manner in which she had raised the issue of false addresses. She had stated the problem was not unusual, but she maintained that when the school asked for advice it was told to take addresses at face value. He said it was apparently an official of the Western Education Board or the Department of Education who gave the direction.
The judge said the board and the department took the view that it was up to parents to produce evidence about false addresses but he said it was impossible for them to police the system.
"The decision of the school not to examine whether there were false addresses disregards the residence requirement in the admissions criteria. So the error of the school was the policy of not checking whether the addresses were accurate when they had knowledge there was an issue."