PROTESTORS gathered outside a council meeting as the fight continues to save a school from the axe.

More than 60 parents, pupils and staff from Eston Park School joined forces to express their anger at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's plans to close the school.

And more than 20 of the protesters went into a council meeting bearing placards to highlight their campaign to prevent the school being turned into an Academy with neighbouring Gillbrook College.

One of the protesters, Janet Ash, sent her eldest child to Gillbrook College but ensured her youngest son attended Eston Park.

She said: "There was no way I was going to let my youngest son go through Gillbrook after the problems that me eldest faced. My decision to get him into Eston Park has paid off because his education has flourished."

Another parent, Jayne Moffat said: "Eston Park is a wonderful school and it would be a tragedy to close it down. Teachers know the names of all the pupils and it has excellent pastoral care which would be lost if they were all put together in one big academy."

The fight to keep the school open did not has unanimous support, with one parent and his two children protesting about the schools stance.

The mask-wearing father, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "At the end of the day there is no point keeping the school open at the expense of a newly built one next door - surely it would be better to get all the kids into one school and help them all get a good education."

The borough council has launched a consultation to outline its plans for Eston Park School and Gillbrook College.

The original scheme was rejected by the schools adjudicator after the council met strong opposition from within the community and especially from the leaders of Eston Park School.

About 90m had been earmarked under the Building Schools for the Future programme, but after this was scrapped, the scheme was reconsidered and the closure plan finally revoked in November, when the schools adjudicator ruled both schools should remain as they were.

However, last December, the council agreed to close Eston Park and neighbouring Gillbrook College to create a merged "superschool".