DEVASTATED parents, governors, staff and pupils at Rainhall Road School are coming to terms with its almost certain closure.

Lancashire County Council had already resolved to close Rainhall Road, dispersing its 65 pupils to other West Craven primary schools. Campaigners lodged official objections to the decision, meaning it had to go to an independent body, the School Organisation Committee. But when it met last Friday, members confirmed the closure decision.

Rainhall Road is now almost certain to be closed at the end of the current school year. There was talk among some of the parents of seeking a judicial review in a final bid to overturn the decision, but its chances of success must be slim.

Most of those who campaigned so fiercely against closure, including local councillors, now accept the battle is lost. But they are far from happy, claiming it was a fait accompli.

Initially the county council, as the Local Education Authority, cited falling pupil numbers as the reason for closure. The school had 140 places, but only 65 pupils attending and council officers said they could be absorbed into other schools within a two mile radius.

However, local councillors claimed council officers were wrong to include schools in Earby and Kelbrook in their reckoning. They argued that if Rainhall Road closed, there would be just six spare primary school places in Barnoldswick itself - a town with a growing population.

But county councillors and their officers then said it was poor educational standards at the school that had led to the closure proposal, citing poor test results.

That angered campaigners, who accused the county of having already decided the school should close and, having had their first justification torn to shreds, moved the goalposts to find an alternative.

They claimed the county council had used figures selectively and out of context, failing to take account of the school's high percentage of pupils with special educational needs or English as a second language, and ignoring its impressive record of working with such children.

Headteacher for the past five years, Shirley Cormack, is still waiting for written confirmation of the decision, but has been told verbally the school will close this summer.

"I am very disappointed with the decision from County Hall and I feel it could have been handled a lot better," she said. "I could perhaps understand the decision to close us down solely on the argument over the surplus places, but it was wrong to criticise the school's performance.

"Things have been said about the school and the staff here that I would contest strongly and that I am very unhappy about."

Mrs Cormack added: "No way is Rainhall Road a failing school. We are looking after the children in our care superbly and many of them go on from here to achieve great things.

"So many people are upset about this decision and the way it has been justified. If they could have argued their case and won on the pupil numbers issue alone, I would have supported that."

Mrs Cormack said the county was wrong to look just at test results: "Rainhall Road has taken part a lot in the life of the community over the five years that I've been here, and I think it will be a sad loss to Barnoldswick. We've been at the forefront of community events."

Looking to the future, Mrs Cormack said her role now was to work with the LEA to make the transition as smooth as possible for pupils moving to other schools.

She thanked parents who had supported the school, and praised the staff who had "given their all".

Maureen Blackwell, a governor with two children at the school, said she was devastated at the news.

She added that her daughter was due to leave Rainhall Road this summer and had passed the tough entrance exam for Clitheroe Grammar School - proof that Rainhall road wasn't failing its pupils. However, her eight-year-old son would have to move to another primary school and didn't want to go.

Mrs Blackwell said Rainhall Road was an excellent school where many parents had chosen to send their children because of the way they were treated there.

One of the leaders of the anti-closure campaign, local councillor David Whipp, added: "It's a sad day for schooling in Barnoldswick when, with all the extra cash that is supposedly available for education, such a good and popular school is being thrown away."