TONY BLAIR last night appeared to be on a collision course with his constituents - or one of his local councils - over school reform.

The Prime Minister used his speech to the inaugural North-East Economic Forum, in his Sedgefield constituency, to defend his desire for quick and far-reaching reform of the secondary school system.

But protestors against Darlington Borough Council's attempts to merge Hurworth School, which is within his constituency, with a struggling school accused him of "educational nimbyism".

Mr Blair said he was restless for change to give schools more freedom to choose how they wanted to be run, and to give parents more choice in a bid to raise standards.

He said: "Education is the gateway, the liberator, the only thing that can transform lives."

But he also said: "Any school should have the freedom to develop in the way it wishes, subject to fair funding and fair admissions policy. Should they choose to do so, they can become self-governing trusts and government, neither local nor central, should be able to stop them."

This would appear to place him on a collision course with either the parents and governors of Hurworth, or with Darlington council.

On Wednesday, the governors voted to become a foundation school in a bid to resist Darlington council's plans to merge Hurworth with the struggling Eastbourne Comprehensive.

Together, the schools would create a £25m city academy. On Thursday, the council announced it would press ahead with those plans, irrespective of the governors' decision.

Members of Save Hurworth and Rural Education met Mr Blair yesterday.

Parent Peter Dodd said: "It is educational nimbyism because he wants parental choice and freedom for schools across the country - but not in his own constituency. If there's always going to be an exception to the rule, what's the point?"

The Hurworth protestors also met Lord Adonis, the Schools Minister.

He said: "No proposal for an academy has been submitted to the department and I have no standing whatsoever until a proposal is submitted. It is clear that the matter resides with the schools and the council."

A similar message came from Mr Blair's camp. It was said that the Prime Minister was now more aware of the protestors' viewpoint and that he was keen for there to be a local discussion of all the issues so that a solution could be reached before his next visit to the North-East.

Alan Milburn, in whose constituency Eastbourne school is located, said: "In Darlington, there are dramatically falling rolls, and in the end something will have to give."

He said the parents and governors of Eastbourne school were firmly behind the city academy concept.

Later, Mr Blair visited Egglescliffe School, in Eaglescliffe, near Yarm, Stockton, where he was confronted by Andrea Ansell, whose musician daughter had been denied a place at the school.

She asked the Prime Minister: "How would you feel if your ten-year-old son or daughter was told they couldn't go to their preferred school?"

Mr Blair told her: "The only way to provide greater choice for parents is to provide more good schools - that's what this (the White Paper) is about."