AN MP has pledged to take the views of pupils, parents and teachers fighting to keep their school open to the Education Secretary.

Pleas for the future of Durham Free School are to be delivered to Parliament in time for a Tuesday deadline, after which Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan will make a final decision on its future.

Durham City MP Roberta Blackman-Woods visited the school for the first time on Friday evening after accepting an invitation from chairman of governors John Denning.

Mr Denning said: "The parents, teachers and especially the children, who were magnificent, left Mrs Blackman-Woods in no doubt of their commitment to, and support for, The Durham Free School. She listened carefully to the views expressed and promised to take them to Nicky Morgan.

"She didn't promise to fight for the school, but since this was the first time she'd visited, and she has been opposed to the school from the start, it was the best we could hope for.”

When one pupil asked her why she had referred to the school in Parliament as "scary", Mrs Blackman-Woods said it was "a slip of the tongue" that she had then tried to lighten.

The MP, who has been a governor in a variety of schools for 30 years, acknowledged that parents did not agree with Ofsted's conclusions but said it was "very unusual" for inspectors to find fault in so many areas, coupled with findings by the Education Funding Agency, to which governors have responded with an improvement plan.

"I want to get an understanding of why you think the judgement is so terribly wrong," she said.

Parents responded by addressing each issue, including allegations bad behaviour among children, teaching standards, pupil achievement and leadership, giving their full backing to the acting headteacher.

Gail Collingwood, of Kirk Merrington, told the MP: "Our son feels safe at this school. He was bullied at the old school for two years and it was only when he reached the point of threatening suicide that they did anything about it."

Student Luke Douglas said: "We were told by Ofsted that we aren't making significant progress. Last year me and some of my friends won a nationally recognised science competition. If we're not making significant progress, how did that happen?"

One mother, Julie Hall, asked Mrs Blackman-Woods why she had been opposed to the school from the outset.

The MP said: "I opposed it because there were surplus places in Durham. It's nothing about it being a free school; free schools are academies and I was hoping to get a new academy in Durham."

Mrs Blackman-Woods also emphasised how keen she was to find out if parents were being offered more than one alternative school by the LEA, but the parents said they did not want their children to go anywhere else.

Mr Denning added: "We are grateful that Mrs Blackman-Woods gave her time to come and listen to our parents. I hope she left with a clearer understanding of what life is really like at The Durham Free School, of the true experiences of pupils and parents, and that it is worth fighting for."

Mrs Roberta Blackman-Woods said: “It was very interesting to get the point of view of the parents, the school and the teachers and I said I would pass on their views to the Secretary of State’s office next week.

“I also pointed out that, although they were focussing on some aspects of the Ofsted report, one of the things I felt had not really been engaged with was the very detailed assessment of the school’s financial and management situation, as well as the impact on other local schools.”