As the school closure debate rolls on, The Northern Echo asks Darlington Borough Council key questions on the proposals to close Hurworth and Eastbourne schools and build a £20m school on the outskirts of Darlington.

Q Why close Hurworth School when it gets such good results?

A The proposal is not to close the school but to move it and provide a brand new, purpose-built school. We are determined to maintain Hurworth's level of results and give more children the chance to share this opportunity

Q What evidence is there that a new school will maintain the results? Look at what happened to the Unity Academy in Middlesbrough.

A Results come about as a combination of factors. Buildings are important but more important is the ethos of a school, the quality of teaching, the engagement of pupils in learning and the knowledge the school has about individual pupils and their circumstances so that they can get the best out of each child.

Q Why is it going to be called Hurworth School when it is nowhere near the village?

A The proposal is that this is a new building not a new school, which will be called Hurworth for the reasons outlined in questions 1 & 2.

Q Why can't some of the £20m be spent on Hurworth where it is now?

A The £20m has to be spent in building one new school. The money can not be split into different areas. Hurworth is not the right location for Darlington's new school.

Q What consultation was carried out and with whom?

A The consultation is just beginning. There are various meetings of parents, staff, governors, trade unions and residents all planned. These are just the early stages of what will be a very lengthy and detailed process.

Q What happens if Hurworth School's governing body rejects the proposal?

A We will have to wait for the decision of Hurworth governors and then respond accordingly.

Q Is there any possibility that the council may have to scrap these plans?

A The council will be building a new secondary school in Darlington. The plans may be modified during the consultation process but a new school will be built.

Q Why are schools in Darlington so poorly maintained?

A We inherited a school stock from County Durham in 1997 which was in a poor state of repair. Since 1997 we have spent £80m on works in schools - £50m on new buildings, replacing eight schools (nine including Middleton St George by Church of England with Cockerton planned for 2007), with an additional £30m spent on repairs and refurbishment.

The priorities for these additional works are agreed in partnership with schools in line with condition surveys carried out on all our schools and include major works such as asbestos removal and secondary school surplus place removal as at Eastbourne and Branksome.

Q The council has said another secondary school could close by 2010. Which school is next?

A There are no plans for a further secondary school to close at this stage, but we will be monitoring pupil numbers and any changes in the population over the next five years. Further decisions may have to be made then.

Q Does the council intend to sell off some of the school land to a housing developer?

A If the two school sites do become vacant, the council will need to assess how best to deal with them. Clearly, there are considerable planning implications and no decisions have been made as yet.

Q Could the school playing fields be re-developed as housing?

A It is extremely unlikely that the school playing fields could be considered for housing development,it is contrary to Government policy (in nearly all cases).

Q How much money does the council hope to make from the sale of the old school sites, and what would the money be spent on?

A There has been no valuation of the land and there are, consequently, no provisions or plans for spending money.

Q There are falling school rolls, why do you have toclose schools, why can't you use the £20m to reduce class sizes?

A The £20m can only be used to build a new school.