A PETITION started by Ebrington parents fighting the proposed closure of the village primary school to merge it with its federated school in Chipping Campden is gaining momentum.

More than 1,000 have signed against the board of governors' proposals to amalgamate the federated schools of Ebrington Primary and St James', onto the Chipping Campden site.

In October a pre-consultation was halted following an outcry which was supported by Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, and then restarted last week. He organised for Dr Ian H Jones, former headteacher of the federation and who has managed OFSTED inspection teams and inspectors nationally, to lead a review which is expected to be completed by spring.

Parents against closure say it is a landmark case and could have serious ramifications for federated schools across the country.

"If it does close it could open the door for other federated schools to follow suit and lead to many more school closures, said one of the mums, Claire Alexander. She added: "There are over 1,600 houses being built within an eight mile radius of Ebrington and most of the other schools in the area are full. Confidence in the management of the school is at an all time low."

Caroline Warren added: "The school is doing a great job educating my children, but the board of governors seem intent on pushing all the children into one school to save money, which is not a good enough reason to close our village school. Ebrington School has been schooling our kids for 175 years, one local family wants to send their sixth generation children, but it might be closed before they get the chance."

Mr Clifton-Brown said he was dismayed to learn the pre-consultation had restarted before the review had been completed.

"I have had numerous letters from parents urging the school to be kept open. I hope Dr Jones, who is a highly professional and experienced individual, will be able to complete his review on an accelerated basis. I urge the governors to consult properly on this matter and to handle it sensitively, otherwise it will create a wound within the community that will take years to heal. My fear is that Ebrington will now apply to become a free school, beyond the reach of the present governors, which may not be in anybody’s interests.”

However, several parents whose children attend St James' say there would be positives from an amalgamation to one site.

Danielle McCabe said: "As parents of a child at St James' and Ebrington, we feel the proposal to consolidate the school will be hugely beneficial to all of the children that are currently split over two sites. We welcome the plans for straight year groups, all resources under one roof and a more effective use of the school budget, without wasteful spending on duplicates. We feel the changes will have a positive impact on the education of all of the children, which is in the end the most important factor above any historical school set up."

Casandra Satchwell added: "I understand the benefits of a local school. However, we do as parents need to look and see how our children would benefit from being together on one site, financially, socially and academically."

And Katy McMinn said: "I can appreciate it must be upsetting to lose a beautiful village school. However, as a parent of children at St James' I would be really pleased to see the single year groups which would be a result of the merger."

Chris Jones, chairman of the board of governors said: The governing body recognises that, if implemented, the proposal would have an effect on the communities in Ebrington and Chipping Campden. Clearly people have strong opinions, and the purpose of the pre-consultation exercise is to provide the governing body with information to come up with the best educational outcome for the children, taking into account the constraints under which the school operates.”