COUNCIL chiefs faced a barrage of criticism last night as the latest developments in the saga surrounding a £25m city academy for Darlington unfolded.

Darlington Borough Council has been invited to seek Government funding that could bring Hurworth School and Eastbourne Comprehensive together in a privately-sponsored academy.

The 1,200-pupil school would be built at the top end of Yarm Road, in Darlington, close to the Cummins Engines factory.

But the proposals have been fiercely opposed by residents of Hurworth and other outlying villages.

They formed an action group to keep the village's secondary school in its present location - and members turned out in force to face the council's cabinet last night.

Children's services director Margaret Asquith said there would be a series of public information events in the near future, offering people details about academies.

Chief executive Ada Burns said the academy option gave the council a chance to create a state-of-the-art secondary school five or six years ahead of what had been expected.

She also said the council was delighted with the confidence the Department for Education and Skills was showing in the Darlington education "vision".

The cabinet agreed to defer the matter to the lifelong learning scrutiny committee.

Council leader John Williams said that the committee would talk to other interested parties, before reporting back to the cabinet's next meeting, on November 29.

But cabinet members were greeted by slow handclapping and chants of "shame on you" as they left the meeting.

The Save Hurworth and Rural Education (Share) action group said it had been astonished by the meeting lasting nearly an hour.

Spokesman Ian Holme branded Councillor Williams' series of questions about many items on the agenda "a PR stunt".

"We're told this meeting usually lasts 15 or 20 minutes. It was just grandstanding. He certainly didn't focus on any of the questions we've been asking," he said.

Mr Holme said Share would also be monitoring whether the scrutiny committee's recommendations would actually form the basis of the cabinet's next decision, as Coun- cillor Williams had stated.

Conservative education spokesman, Barrie Armstrong, said the group looked forward to discussing the proposals in more detail.

If an expression of interest is to be sent to the Government, it must explain the council's vision for the project, a timetable and details of the preferred site. A private sponsor, who would contribute up to £2m to have a major say in the curriculum and appoint governors, would also have to be sought. An academy could open by 2008.