GOVERNORS and teachers at a school threatened with closure are to campaign with villagers to keep it open.

Aycliffe Village Primary School is one of 23 in County Durham which has been earmarked for possible closure in a £300m education shake-up.

Following the announcement two weeks ago, school governors and the parent teacher association held a meeting to discuss the way forward and to plan their response.

Falling numbers at the school has been given as the reason for its potential closure.

Governors have until July 18 to present their case to retain the school before more detailed plans are published.

They have formed an action group to discuss their position and are to hold a public meeting in the village on Monday to hear residents' views.

A statement from the group says: "Although the school is small, it is this which has allowed it to develop the very caring ethos and attitude to education and development of its pupils.

"It was agreed that an action committee be formed, to help co-ordinate the responses and correlate the views of the village as a whole.

"The consensus was that no matter what happened, the whole community would be affected, and so should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions.

"As one of its first tasks, the action committee was asked to call a further meeting, with an open invitation for the whole village to attend, be they former pupils, relatives or local business people.

"This would be the opportunity for everyone to express their concerns and put forward proposals to help keep our much-loved school alive."

The meeting will be held on Monday, at 6pm in the school hall. All villagers are urged to attend.

More details of the campaign will shortly be available at www.saveourschool.org.uk.

Meanwhile, an action group of councillors and teachers has also been formed in Ferryhill, where Dean Bank Primary School is on the closure list and Ferryhill Comprehensive is set for a possible merger.

In Shildon, where Sunnydale Comprehensive is down for potential closure, the town council is to ask for more information on the plans before deciding whether to hold a public meeting.