PARENTS at a small Craven school are ready to campaign to save it from closure.

Only 16 children attend Langcliffe School, near Settle, but they could be forced to move elsewhere if North Yorkshire County Council decides to go ahead with the closure process.

But governors are pleading for a breathing space to try to build up numbers, which they fear will not happen with the threat of closure hanging over the school.

Parent governors Ann Jubb and Alison Lister say that if the school is closed then there could be a devastating knock-on effect for the whole village.

Langcliffe's problems started last year when North Yorkshire County Council announced a review of the education system in North Craven, which unusually still has a "three tier" system.

Headteacher Jill Wilson said the school's low numbers made it vulnerable and feelers were put out to other schools in the area to seek a "federation" - perhaps sharing a headteacher.

Governors were told at a meeting with North Yorkshire officials that there had been no response to those overtures and then dropped the bombshell that they were going to consider closure.

North Yorkshire's Small Schools Policy sets a figure of 23 pupils as a critical target and schools below that number may be subject to review.

But parents have formed a group to fight closure, called Souls (Save Our Unique Langcliffe School) and claim they have overwhelming support from the village.

If Langcliffe does close, it will be the first school that North Yorkshire has closed in Craven for 20 years. The last school to shut was in the next village, Stainforth.

Parents claim that Langcliffe should be given a chance to reverse the decline in numbers.

"The school's numbers have risen and fallen over the years and we feel we must have a chance for that to happen again," said Mrs Lister, a parent governor.

"More commuters are moving this way travelling to places like Leeds and Manchester and we feel that there is a good chance that the school numbers could be increased."

Chairman of governors Kate Croll asked for time to prove that the school was viable.

"If the county could give us a breathing space and take away the threat of closure then we have a chance to build," she said.

The school plays an important role in village life. It hosts the Thursday Club, when pensioners come into school for lunch, and has an active Friends of School committee.

In a statement to the Herald, North Yorkshire County Council said it remained deeply committed to its small schools.

"Very occasionally, the circumstances for individual schools can become particularly problematic. This is likely to involve very low and falling numbers, and we work with schools to look at all the options open to them," said the spokesman.

"The numbers at Langcliffe are expected to fall to 11 in 2005-06; just three in the infants and eight junior-aged children. We anticipate that the governors will have difficult decisions to make about staffing levels, possibly for September 2005, and certainly for September 2006.

"The LEA has not made any decision to close Langcliffe CP School. It has been discussing with governors - who include parents - what the best way forward might be for the children in the area and will consider later this month whether to consult more widely in the area on the future of the school."