A VILLAGE school has received a devastating blow after an application to leave a federation of three schools has been rejected despite fears remaining in the group will lead to its imminent closure.

West Burton Church of England Primary School has not been allowed to leave the federation with Bainbridge and Askrigg Primary Schools following a meeting of the governors last week.

The governing board of three Wensleydale primary schools has decided it cannot support the wishes of community members and parents at West Burton Church of England Primary School for the school to defederate.

Governors of Bainbridge and West Burton Church of England primary schools and Askrigg Voluntary Controlled primary school, which are federated as a single body, took a decision against West Burton’s defederation at a meeting last week.

This decision follows a period of discussion when governors met with representatives of the West Burton community to explore their wishes to defederate.

A board of shadow governors had outlined their plans for taking the school forward independently, along with financial and curriculum plans.

Upper dales councillor John Blackie, who is also a member of the shadow board of governors, said it was a “very disappointing outcome for the school.”

He said: “The board of governors are in flat denial if they consider they are acting in the best interests of the children who attend West Burton Primary School by refusing the request by their parents, the local community and a highly talented shadow board of governors to de-federate the school, and return it to the stand-alone status under which it flourished for over 100 years.

“How they can say this beggar’s belief, as their plans are to bus children as young as four a total of 40 minutes a day, often in the hostile weather we have here in the Upper Dales.

“The decision has now put the school on a fast track to closure.”

Governors believe that their agreed option - which followed two separate consultations and which involves nursery, reception and key stage 1 classes on the Bainbridge site with key stage 2 classes divided between Askrigg and West Burton - provided the best educational and financial advantages.

“We worked very hard as a governing body to agree a sustainable solution which involves the least disruption and continues to offer a very high quality of education for the children of Wensleydale,” said Derek Walpole, the federation chair of governors. “It was a very tough decision for governors to make and was never going to please everybody.

“This subsequent decision against defederation has also been very tough. We recognise the concern of West Burton’s parents and have listened very hard to what they have had to say. But we believe it is better if schools work together and we must also consider the sustainability of all three schools and what is in the best educational and social interests of children.”