'Don't let Bradford bulldoze Bront''.

That's the message from a group of Keighley parents fighting the proposed demolition of Bront' Middle School.

Oakbank Action Group is determined to keep the Bront' site open, and use it as part of a split-site school with Oakbank upper school.

The group was formed after a meeting at Oakbank last week. Since then it has acted swiftly to produce 6,000 leaflets to be distributed to parents in the Worth Valley.

Under current proposals issued by Bradford council's school review team Bront' will close, while nearby Oakbank will be expanded. Bront''s land will be sold off to recoup money for the council.

The aim of the Oakbank Action Group is to raise awareness about the Bront' situation, and a possible shortfall in the number of secondary school places.

Val Wright has been instrumental in rallying support for the action group. She says she is concerned about the future education of youngsters in Keighley. Her daughter Rebecca, 17, is a lower-sixth pupil at Oakbank, and her 11-year-old son Simon is a year six pupil at Bront'.

She says: "Bradford's assistant director of education, Roger Smith, said he has no educational use for the Bront' site. Well, we have. The school has excellent sports grounds, two gyms, specialised science and technology labs and a superbly-equipped information-technology suite. It is madness for the LEA (local education authority) to bulldoze these facilities and build inferior ones half a mile away on the present Oakbank site. Oakbank is a successful school and by taking over the Bront' site it can have one of the best educational institutions in Yorkshire."

Meanwhile, parents in the Worth Valley have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed merger.

In a survey carried out by Oakbank, 81 per cent of parents voted in favour of a split-site school. The survey also revealed that 85 per cent of parents have major concerns about their children moving to a large single campus.

Governors at Oakbank want to use the Bront' site for Key stage three pupils aged 11-13. That would mean around 750 pupils would be located at the current Bront' site, with around 1,200 pupils up to sixth-form level at the Oakbank campus.

Oakbank Action Group says a single site with more than 2,000 pupils - as the council proposes for the Oakbank site - would have a detrimental effect on teaching standards. Members believe keeping Bront' open will save Bradford council taxpayers the £5 million it would cost to expand the Oakbank campus.

The proposals will be considered by the council's education committee on June 23.

Readers' Letters and Opinion, pages 10 and 11

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