AN axe is hanging over Barnoldswick's Rainhall Road School after county councillors voted to close it down and disperse its pupils to other schools.

Parents, pupils and staff from the school left Tuesday's meeting of the county's education committee tearful and dismayed, having lost the first battle in their campaign to save the school.

But county councillor for West Craven, David Whipp, who bitterly opposed the decision, vowed that they would fight on to overturn it.

The county education officers originally sited falling pupil numbers as the reason for possible closure, claiming they could be accommodated at other schools. But now poor standards and test results are being given as the justification for closing the school.

County councillor Tony Martin, chairman of the authority's schools sub-committee, told Tuesday's meeting that in the light of the vote to close the school, statutory notices would be published proposing closure with effect from July 31, 2001.

He added: "It's clear there is significant community support for the school, but I feel there is no further option."

But Richard Glover, an elected parent governor representative on the county's education committee, and the only committee member to visit the school immediately prior to the meeting, said: "Educating for SATs results is not the be all and end all. It is about life and social skills.

"Look below the figures, look at the child. I visited the school to see the things that the SATs don't tell us. I saw children who were relaxed and contented - no litter, no graffiti, no smashed windows. That school is well accepted by the children.Twelve out of 42 families take part as parents as educators. This is a school that is part of the community. The absence rate is very low - it is not an unhappy school. I saw children who you would be condemning to failure if you put them in a larger class. There are children at Rainhall Road where the school is their only stability."

West Craven's Coun Whipp quoted from reports presented to the education committee about the school: "The trend over 1996 to 1999 in the school's Key Stage 2 results improved at above the national rate."

He said over 1,700 people had opposed the closure plan and he criticised figures that sought to show pupils underachieving.

"In last year's Key Stage 2 SATs (Standard Achievement Tests), 26 out of 27 personal targets, drawn up by the school and external advisers, were met by the children. Ten per cent of the children had a statement of special need, 63 per cent were on the special needs register and 20 per cent of the children joined the school only weeks before sitting the SATs.

"Trying to justify closure by using these figures is a deliberate act of misrepresentation," said Coun Whipp. "Rainhall Road is a caring and compassionate school, which has the support of the parents and the community."

However, committee chairman Coun Hazel Harding replied: "Rainhall Road is not alone in not having broken windows and graffiti. We cannot ignore the evidence."

Colne councillor Tim Ormerod said the problem was that the school was performing badly. He claimed it would be a "dereliction of duty" to allow children to stay, adding that their life chances had to be maximised.

But Coun Alan Hackett, said: "It can't be the only school in this situation - but none of the others have come before us. It looks like the goal posts are more manoeuvrable than the players."

Coun Whipp added: "Only four members out of an education committee of 70 have visited the school. Three out of the four are opposed to closure. All you are looking at is useless statistics and ignoring the children who really matter."

In a county council press release issued after the meeting, committee chairman Coun Harding said: "Although it is never an easy decision to close a school, there are compelling educational reasons to do so in this case. We are committed to providing the best quality education for all Lancashire's pupils and we cannot ignore that this school was performing significantly below any other school in the county.

"Increasingly parents were voting with their feet with the slow draining of pupil numbers, and this committee has never shied away from difficult decisions which sometimes need to be taken to ensure that these pupils can do as well as those from similar backgrounds who attend other schools."

But Pendle's Labour MP Gordon Prentice called for a fresh report on the school by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) before any final decision is taken. "My top priority is to ensure that Pendle's children get a first rate education," he said. "New information from the Local Education Authority shows the school has struggled to deliver the standards required. But I want a second opinion."

The decision of the education committee will now go to the full meeting of the county council on October 12 where campaigners will try again to overturn it.

o In light of the decision, a public meeting has been organised to discuss the issue. It will take place on Monday at 7.30pm.