GOVENORS of a closure-threatened primary school are giving up their summer holidays in a final push to save it.

Durham County Council announced a closure consultation at Startforth Morritt Memorial CofE School, near Barnard Castle, in May, amid falling pupil numbers and insufficient improvement since its last inspection.

Ofsted judged the school as “requiring improvement” in 2014 and the council says it is now only a third full.

However, a campaign to save the school, which has 36 pupils, was launched by governors, parents and the children following the news.

And almost half the pupils travelled to County Hall in Durham city to hand in hundreds of letters and a petition with 1,790 signatures to the council’s head of education, Caroline O’Neill, last month.

Now governors have vowed to work through the summer to try to come up with a solution to stop the closure, which could happen in December if the proposal is passed by members of the council’s cabinet, on September 14.

School governor John Blissett, who is also Barnard Castle’s mayor, said the board was prepared to “fight tooth and nail” to find a solution

“We are going to be working over the summer to solve the situation because there’s no way we agree with what’s going on,” Cllr Blissett said.

“Unusually the governors will not be taking the six weeks off and we will be working to get an answer.”

He added: “We are giving it our best shot and as a governing body we are determined not to roll over and get trodden on.”

In a statement, the governors said that “even though there is a closure notice hanging over the school they continue to be 100 per cent committed to saving the school”.

They also thanked everyone for “their endeavours in the fight so far”.

“We are in some very positive negotiations as to the future of the school, albeit there is a long way to go with no absolute guarantee at the end of it, but we are going to be working hard over the summer break to get the best result that we can for the staff and children,” they added.

A council spokesman said: “The notice period on the proposal to close the school is still open and ongoing until August 4. It would not be appropriate to add any additional statements while this is still open.

“Once the notice period ends, any responses will be considered and our cabinet will make a decision as to whether to agree to closing the school or not at a future meeting.”

To comment on the plans visit durham.gov.uk/article/7761/Proposal-to-close-Startforth-Morritt-Memorial-Church-of-England-Primary-School