A rebel governor at a secondary school has condemned plans to close it after claiming parents' wishes were being completely ignored'.

In summer 2006, the Diocese of Leeds, which runs Catholic schools in Bradford, outlined plans to close Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College to concentrate on St Bede's Catholic Grammar in Highgate, Heaton, and St Joseph's School in Cunliffe Road, Manningham.

Now Yorkshire Martyrs' governors have decided to accept its last batch of new pupils in September 2009. Numbers will then fall until those pupils have completed GCSE exams and the school will close.

A Diocese of Leeds spokesman said letters had been sent to all parents of pupils at Yorkshire Martyrs informing them of the decision to close the school following a meeting of governors at all three schools.

"We are in a period of consultation with staff, parents and governors," said the spokesman.

However, Sharon Ratnik, a Yorkshire Martyrs local education authority governor, said wishes of many parents had not been taken into account.

Mrs Ratnik, 44, whose 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter attend the school, said: "The Diocese has had an invitation to attend a meeting with parents to discuss this and it has not responded at all. We feel that our views are being completely ignored.

"Parents are beginning to panic and a lot of them are saying they are totally fed up. They don't know whether to take their children out of school."

Elaine Booth, whose 11-year-old son started at Yorkshire Martyrs last September, said: "The Diocese of Leeds doesn't care about the kids' education and the travelling that will be involved if Yorkshire Martyrs closes.

"My 11-year-old son is excelling there and it just doesn't want to know."

Mrs Booth said a letter informing parents that York-shire Martyrs was set to close was sent out "days before Christmas" and had not given parents the chance to respond.