PARENTS and supporters protested yesterday as a council official visited a closure-threatened Catholic school.

St Anthony's, in Middlesbrough, has been hit by falling pupil numbers. It has been suggested that, if the school closed, its pupils could be incorporated in a new school planned for the area.

But parents and teachers fear that if the school closes it will mean the end of Catholic education in east Middlesbrough. The school is waiting for the outcome of a review by the diocese on its future.

Supporters protested as Middlesborough Borough Council's corporate director for education, Barbara Comiskey, visited the school yesterday.

One campaigner said: "We fully expect the diocese to come out in support of us."

Mrs Comiskey said: "The proposals for the future of three Middlesbrough schools is still out on consultation to give people another opportunity to comment on the proposals before a decision is made in September."