FAMILIES fighting the proposed closure of a North-East school have revived a historic tradition in a bid to highlight their campaign.

Children and parents from Boldon, near South Shields, South Tyneside, gathered at the Sanctuary Knocker at Durham Cathedral to draw attention to their fight to save Boldon Church of England Primary School.

In the Middle Ages, anyone fleeing the law could claim sanctuary in a church and would use the knocker on the main entrance to the cathedral to summon help.

The school is one of two identified for closure in a South Tyneside Council report on removing surplus places called Transforming Our Primary Schools (Tops).

Parents say the 100-year-old school, which has 120 pupils and 20 unfilled places, should not be shut.

Campaign organiser Sean Hudson, a solicitor, whose eight-year-old daughter, Gemma, is a pupil at Boldon CoE School, said: "We want our children to have new hope that their school is going to stay open and won't close.

"The council has an issue with surplus places. Closing Boldon won't significantly reduce them. It will reduce a lot of vulnerable children's access to small class sizes and close teaching relationships as the council moves to less schools with bigger classes.

"Ofsted said that our children's school has a strong family atmosphere where children were supported, cared for and valued. I worry that children are going to be shoehorned into neighbouring schools where they will be in bigger classes, without necessarily extra space.'' The other school threatened with closure is St Bede's RC Primary School, in Jarrow.

A council spokesman said the authority had carried out a full public consultation around these proposals, including a series of meetings at local schools.

He added: "Tops officers are now looking at the information and opinions provided by everyone who took part.

"They will consider whether the proposals need to be modified, pursued or abandoned altogether with a view to making recommendations on the final proposals to the council's cabinet in February.

"If they feel that a proposal needs significant modification, it is likely that there would need to be further public consultation."