PARENTS have rallied to save a school after proposals were made for its closure.

A meeting was held on October 17 between parents, teachers and representatives from Essex County Council to discuss the proposed closure of St Mary’s Primary School in Woodham Ferrers.

Members of the community packed the school's hall to oppose the plan.

Robert Fraser, from Nevendon, who has two children at the school said the meeting was a huge success.

He said: “There were a lot of parents, teachers and members of the community at the meeting, they care about the school a lot as it is the central point of our community and the schools has been for around 120 years.

“One gentleman who attended the meeting’s mother was among the first children to ever go there.

“We put requests for a lot of changes regarding the reasons for the closure and challenged a lot of the reasons.

“In terms of the future of the children, plans for transport and places for them still had not been allocated.”

Children from across Maylandsea, Stow Maries and Chelmsford attend the school, with an approximate number of just 55 pupils. The school has a capacity of 105 pupils.

Under the proposal, the school would close its doors for good on August 31 2019.

If plans are approved, places will be made available to pupils at Collingwood Primary School in Collingwood Road.

Parents would also have the option of applying to alternative schools but places would depend on each school’s admissions policy.

Mr Fraser has worked alongside fellow parents from the school to garner the support of thousands of people in the community.

He said: “We have had around 1,000 signatures online from people throughout the community against the closure of the school.

“We have also been going door to door in the area and we have been gaining a lot of support from people in Woodham Ferrers.

“We have had massive support from the community, the hall we held the meeting at was only supposed to allow 100 people, I think around 130 were in the room.

“We have brilliant backing from people not just in Woodham, but also in the villages surrounding the town, it was so well attended.”

A consultation on the proposal is still ongoing and will end on Tuesday November 20.

A final decision will be made at the end of next month on whether to make a formal proposal to close the school.

Clare Kershaw, director for education at Essex County Council, said: “We would like to thank everyone that attended the public meeting, to discuss the future of St Mary’s.

"A number of important comments were raised, which we will now consider as part of the consultation.”