WHEN five-year-old Reece Harker started his first day at school he continued a family tradition.

It is 83 years since his great-grandmother Mary Staples was taught in the same classrooms at Stanley Crook Primary School, near Crook.

His grandmother Beryl Harker, 60, and her siblings also attended the school and more recent pupils were his mother Charlene, 21, and her 22-year-old sister, Leanne.

But Reece could be the fourth and last generation of his family to go to the school because it is threatened with closure.

It is one of 23 schools which could shut under Durham County Council's multi-million pound shake-up of education, designed to create a "blueprint for excellence''.

Charlene Harker said: "I am quite devastated to think that we have all come to this school and now I might have to move Reece somewhere else.''

Mrs Staples, 88, said: "Things have changed since I was last here but it is a lovely school and it would be such a shame.''

The schools have been asked to put forward reasons why they should not be closed and a final decision has yet to be made.

Parents at Stanley Crook have formed their own action committee and are prepared to fight the idea every step of the way.

Headteacher Shirley Oswald said: "We have 89 pupils on roll. We are a good thriving small school.

"Both villages look to the school to provide a focal point for the whole community.

"In Schools for the Future we want caring and committed children that thrive in dynamic schools. Stanley Crook School can be a school of the future - given the chance.''