HUNDREDS of parents and pupils stepped up their campaign to save their community secondary school with a lunchtime rally and march in Sheffield city centre.
Protesters vowed to save Wisewood Secondary School after handing over a petition containing more than 2,100 names to the council's cabinet member for children's services Coun Harry Harpham.
They later put their case before a full meeting of the city council, demanding a rethink to plans which would see the merger of Wisewood and Myers Grove schools, with a new secondary to be built on the Myers site at Stannington.
Council planners argue a merger is the best option because pupil numbers are set to fall in the north west of the city over the next few years.
Mum Lucy Fairest, who has three children who would be affected by the proposals, said feelings were running as strongly as ever – even though many parents still believed the scheme to be a 'done deal'.
"We think our views are being listened to and that changes are being considered but if we don't agree with them, we'll fight again," she said.
"We want to keep our local school to serve our local school and we want it to be run by the community, not some trust from miles away."
Darren Webb, whose eldest child attends Marcliffe Primary in the Wisewood catchment, said pupils from his part of Hillsborough would face a five mile daily round trip through one of the most congested areas of the city.
"Six hundred children will be affected by these proposals and somehow they will have to cross through the centre of Hillsborough at the busiest times of day. It really couldn't be worse," he said.
"We're also very concerned that this whole consultation process is asking us to agree to a new school without us knowing who will own or operate it. That is a major issue in itself.
"As parents, we are having to carry out a lot of our own research to find out the full picture behind these plans," Mr Webb added.
Thirteen-year-old Holly Clarke had brought her own 120-name petition drawn up from pupils at Wisewood Secondary itself.
"I haven't spoken to a single person who thinks it's a good thing," she said. "I'm worried that our best members of staff will leave and we'll all end up being taught by supply teachers. And as for my brother Elliot, he'll have to move schools right before his GCSE year, so it's bound to disrupt him," Holly added.
June Glaves went on the march with her grandchildren Laura and Lydia and said it made no sense to shut a good school.
LibDem shadow education spokeswoman Coun Sylvia Anginotti said the city had problems keeping the two schools open because it received less funding than comparable cities.
"We believe there is a place for two smaller schools, capable of higher attainment and with less bullying. We want the council to look at this again – we believe the proposals aren't viable," she added.
Coun Harpham admitted opposition from one section of the community had been "vociferous".
"This protest confirms the concerns that have been raised at lots of our public meetings, and there are two areas we are going to go away and think about again," he said.
"The first is the transport issue and the second is the matter of catchments and how far some of the kids will have to travel. But the area does face problems and no one can say they don't exist - and there is also some significant support for a new school at Myers."
Coun Harpham said if the plans were revised, there would have to be further consultation with parents.
Join our vote: Click here