The School Closure Debate: Parents vow to take school battle to Downing Street

A public meeting called by Hurworth Parish Council saw the Grange Community Centre's main hall packed with concerned parents, pupils and elected representatives.

Following their march through the village on Tuesday night, residents again left Darlington Borough Council in no doubt over opposition to the school's relocation.

The meeting agreed to form an action committee to keep the school in the village.

Protestors also called for the personal intervention of Prime Minister Tony Blair - and demanded to know his views as the area's MP.

Denise Wilson, one of the organisers of Tuesday's march, said: "Blair's just taking a back seat - he doesn't seem to be sticking up for his own constituents."

Borough councillor Peter Foster said he tried to get a response from Mr Blair's office, but to no avail.

The meeting closed with loud applause after a parent called on residents to deliver a petition against the plans to Downing Street.

Earlier, parish council chairman Ian Black said Hurworth School's academic record "should be the basis for the advancement of educational standards within an already successful environment".

Fellow Hurworth parish councillor Clive Bullock said the action committee faced a lengthy battle, but "one that can be won".

Doris Jones, chairman of nearby Middleton St George Parish Council, stressed that the voice of the parents was the most important.

"The last thing we want is for this issue to become a political football within the council arena - that gains nothing," she said.

"We can support you in the council chamber, but it's outside where the groundwork needs to be done."

Hurworth parent Ian Holme said: "The decision's already been made. The council is simply trying to make up the arguments to fit its case, but we can pin them down on every one of them."

Another parent asked why the town hall had not planned to invest the millions it will receive for a new school elsewhere in the town. He said: "What about West Park? It already has a primary school (Alderman Leach) and the children there have to go to a secondary school in special measures (Branksome)."

The debate then turned to a parents' meeting held at the school on Tuesday.

People questioned why the Press were not present, although Hurworth headteacher Dean Judson insisted yesterday that no media ban had come from the school.

However, both The Northern Echo and its sister paper, The Darlington and Stockton Times, had earlier been told the meeting was private.

One resident said: "The panel at the meeting did not give one straight answer. It was the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard."

Steve York, vice-chairman of Middleton St George Parish Council, said: "I was at the meeting and I didn't get a straight answer either. There has been no consultation - I don't think they know what the word consultation means.

"We were told Hurworth was a special school, but the only merit the council thinks we have is the valuable land."

Hazel Neasham, a primary school parent, said: "We were left believing last night by Mr Farrar (Eamonn Farrar, chief executive of the Hurworth/ Eastbourne federation) that the school was not fit for purpose. We didn't get an answer about what the possibilities for that school are if we are successful in fighting the takeover."

Hurworth Primary School's governors said they would circulate a statement to parents, denouncing the relocation of the secondary school.

The Reverend Michelle Ferguson, rector of All Saints' Church, urged people to want the best for Darlington overall.

"Using words like 'enemies' and telling anecdotal stories you have heard about kids at Eastbourne does not help. It makes us look like we only care about ourselves," she said.

Coun Black also discussed rumours that Middlesbrough Football Club, which has a training complex in the village, had bought up farmland in the surrounding area. But he said no plans had come before the parish council and it was not certain whether such a development would affect the school at this stage.

Volunteers to serve on the action committee were to hold talks after the meeting closed.