GOVERNORS have announced that they are to reconsider a controversial proposal to change the name of their village school.

Parents of pupils attending the school in Middleton St George, near Darlington, were furious at a proposal for a new £3m school to be named St Andrew's and St Laurence's Voluntary Aided Church of England School.

They said that the proposed change in name for the new school, which is scheduled to receive its first pupils late next year or in 2005, would significantly contribute to the village losing its identity.

But after receiving a petition from angry parents opposing the suggestion, school governors have now recommended that the new school be called Middleton St George Voluntary Aided Church of England School.

The new board of governors, which will be installed when the school opens, will be urged to adopt that name.

Pupils from the village and surrounding area have been having lessons in temporary classrooms on the site after the village school was severely damaged by fire in March.

The deputy chairwoman of school governors, Councillor Doris Jones, said last night: "We have recommended, which is all we can do at this stage, that the new governors should look to keep the name as Middleton St George Voluntary Aided Church of England School."

She said the present governors were forced to make a hasty decision in order for funding bids to proceed.

"We always said the other name was not set in stone. We had to make a quick decision and did not have time to consult," she said.

Furious parents contacted The Northern Echo to speak of their anger at the initial proposal, which was revealed in a letter to them from the headteacher.

It said that new logos and badges would also be designed with the help of pupils.

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council said any name change was entirely the choice of the governors and nothing to do with the local education authority.

Nearby Sadberge Primary School will close and pupils from the village will be taught at Middleton St George.