THREE schools in the Chester-le-Street area have been earmarked for closure as part of a massive education shake-up in County Durham.

The schools were identified this week in a wide-ranging appraisal report published by Durham County Council, which is intended to be a blueprint for the next ten to 15 years.

Durham County Council said the report, containing an assessment of the 306 schools for which it is responsible, was not a 'hit-list' but a blueprint for excellence.

Among the schools earmarked for closure are Fyndoune Community College in Sacriston, Plawsworth Road Infant School, also in Sacriston, and West Pelton Primary School.

Many other schools in the area are listed for reorganisation or merger, which could lead to closure.

The shake-up is part of a Government drive to reduce the number of surplus places across the county. Much of the deficit is caused by the falling birth rate.

Fyndoune Community College has capacity for 725 pupils but at present the school is operating with only 438 pupils, leaving 287 surplus places.

Under the proposals, pupils would transfer to Framwellgate Comprehensive on the outskirts of Durham or the Hermitage School at Chester-le-Street.

Plawsworth Road Infant School has only 38 pupils, running well below its capacity of 90 places with a shortfall of 52.

West Pelton Primary has 26 surplus places from a capacity of 120 pupils. It is considered for closure as part of reorganisation with East Stanley, Shield Row and Roseberry Primary schools.

None of the headteachers at the three schools were available for comment.

The unfilled places at the schools are among 12,000 county-wide, which is leading to thousands of pounds being lost every year by the education authority.

Durham County Council has already identified that up to £300m is needing to be spent on building new schools and adapting existing ones in order to tackle the problem.

Education director Keith Mitchell said that some schools would probably have closed anyway over the ten to 15-year period of the planned programme.

He said: "All this document does is to look at what problems are likely to arise in our schools over the longer term and identify them earlier than might have been case."

The appraisal report measures the physical condition of schools, the number of surplus places they have and whether the accommodation they provide is appropriate.

It will be circulated over the coming months to parents and schools and a consultation process will take place on the planned closures.

Voluntary aided schools are subject to a separate review.