THE closure of one, or even two, of Darlington's secondary schools is expected to be the most burning issue facing the borough council over the next few years.

Already, The Northern Echo has received calls from readers who are taking house-buying decisions based on rumours they have heard about schools closing.

Eastbourne School has been offered more than £20m from the Church of England to become a voluntary-aided school, and the money would mean a new building for Eastbourne and remove any chance of the school closing in the foreseeable future.

But what about the town's other secondary schools? Darlington's falling birth rate has led to a dramatic rise in the number of surplus places.

If the trend continues, by 2014 there will be more than 1,400 surplus places, costing the education authority almost £500,000 a year.

Education officials have said the town's schools are more likely to be rebuilt rather than refurbished, increasing the likelihood of some being merged rather than closed.

Darlington Borough Council's education director, Geoff Pennington, said: "We have a growing problem because surplus places cost money. The difficulty also is that there is an uneven distribution of the surplus places. Parents will gravitate to what they see as the most successful schools."

Two of the communities most afraid of school closures are Branksome and Hurworth, although there is no hard evidence that either will be shut.

Many people saw Hurworth's federation with Eastbourne as paving the way for a merger that people believed would leave Hurworth without a school.

But Mr Pennington said that was just one of many options being considered.

"A series of exercises have been held with school governors where we have asked them to give us feedback and that is probably what has been prompting any rumours," he said.

Councillor Roderick Burtt, Conservative borough councillor for Hurworth, said the education department's reluctance to be open about the issue was simply fuelling speculation.

"No one has come out and said what is happening, but it is well acknowledged that at least one, probably two secondary schools will have to close in the next ten years," he said.

Mr Pennington said the council was waiting for the Government to announce its next wave of funding for Building Schools for the Future - an ambitious plan to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school - before it made any firm decisions.

He said: "We are in a very early stage of trying to put together a coherent plan for the medium to long-term development of secondary allocation in Darlington.

"All sorts of possibilities are being looked at, but any suggestions that are taken will be subject to rigorous consultation."

He said criteria used to decide which schools will close are likely to include where the schools would best serve the local community, where they would be easily accessible and how much would have to be spent on them.

Out of 700 school governors through the town, the council has involved 150, plus headteachers, so far in exercises to inform them about the issues and gather feedback.

Mr Pennington said: "We have been open about this issue and we wish to continue to be open. We are trying to talk to the governors on planning for the future, and once we have completed that and have formed ideas of what the plans will be, we will let people know."

The Government's delay in announcing the latest local authorities to benefit from Building Schools for the Future is not helping Darlington council in planning for the future.

The next round was due to be announced last month, but it has been delayed and education officials are in the dark about when it will be.

If Darlington is in the next wave, it could have new schools by 2007 and Mr Pennington and his team will be able to start planning the future of Darlington's secondary schools