THE leadership of a council which has defended its record for maintaining small schools in the face of financial pressures has been urged to abandon proposals to close a primary with just 28 pupils on its roll.

Campaigners said it was vital for the future of communities in the Yorkshire Dales that North Yorkshire County Council allowed the governors of Clapham Primary School to implement their plan for the continuation of the school which has supported the community for more than 150 years.

The call follows the authority’s leader, Councillor Carl Les emphasising that the authority has no secret programme of school closure, and that closure is only ever considered following a request from a school’s governing body.

Ahead of the council’s executive considering the school’s future, residents have sent more than 200 letters raising concerns over the loss of vital infrastructure, such as primary schools and GP surgeries.

Members of Clapham Community Action Group said it was clear residents felt a local primary school was critical to attract young families into rural communities,

Meanwhile, the action group said the school’s governing body had found pupil forecasts were higher than first anticipated and as a result had submitted a development plan to make the school financially sustainable.