WORRIED parents have called for a fresh look at a federation of three Yorkshire Dales schools as school funds have plummeted and there are now fears of closure.

Parents of children at West Burton school, are concerned they have gone from the top of the class to the bottom after joining with Bainbridge and Askrigg primary schools last year.

Councillor John Blackie said at West Burton school there has been huge concern and a public meeting was held to give parents the chance to have their say.

“The whole point was that West Burton was supposed to be in a stronger position as part of the federation, but within a year there is a potential financial situation that might lead to closure of one or two schools within that federation.

“They went into the federation with a financial balance of £25,000 and that has gone down to £7,900 and they can’t for the life of them see why there has been such a turnaround.

"They feel like they have been led up the garden path,” added Cllr Blackie.

Parents say the three schools had lost 32 members of staff in the past four years and that there were no permanent contracts for teaching staff at West Burton. Instead staff were on yearly contracts which made recruitment difficult, and five pupils had been taken out.

From September projected pupils numbers are 40 at Askrigg, 22 at Bainbridge and 22 at West Burton.

Cllr Blackie said one of the other major concerns had been that parents from West Burton had no representation on the governing body of the new federation.

The concerns are part of a wider issue over the future of schools in the county with between 20 and 30 pupils, of which there are 49, many of them in the Yorkshire Dales.

“The point is that many of these small schools are the heart of their communities and need to be supported," said Cllr Blackie.

"At West Burton parents are asking for support and to ensure that any reviews are carried out with a real consultation.”

A spokesman for the county council said: "The governing body, headteacher, local authority and diocese continue to work closely together in order to address the concerning financial position of the schools.

"In the autumn term there will be an informal consultation to seek views on the way forward.”