PARENTS at a Blackburn high school threatened with closure are being ignored, according to its headteacher.

Ruby Hussain has been inundated with calls and letters from parents angry at Blackburn with Darwen Council's plan to close Beardwood, Preston New Road, as part of its Building Schools for the Future scheme.

She said parents had not been consulted properly, and felt their concerns had been ignored.

But education chiefs said a full, well-publicised consult-ation was carried out and all concerns raised were addressed.

Under the proposed £150million project, Beard-wood would close by 2012, and its pupils sent to other schools, primarily three new "super-schools" - Witton Park and Pleckgate High Schools will be rebuilt, and a new East Blackburn Community School will be built to replace Blakewater College.

Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School would move to the vacated Beardwood site.

The council announced the plans in September, following three months of "extensive consultation" with the com-munity. The proposals are awaiting approval from the Government.

But Mrs Hussain said education bosses failed in their duty to inform and listen to the community.

She said: "The authority might have held events and sent out leaflets, but it's clearly not the right method.

"And those parents who attended a meeting with council bosses last term feel that their views have been ignored. When the council's executive approved the plans last month, nothing was said about parents' concerns. I'm not surprised they feel aggrieved."

A group of parents have launched a campaign to save the school on grounds that the council's reasons for closing Beardwood are unfounded.

Schools bosses said that the site was the least suitable for development, and that predicted falling pupil numbers in west Blackburn meant schools were needed more in the east.

Parents requested the figures from the council, but have yet to receive them.

Mrs Hussain said: "All stakeholders, including my-self, remain unconvinced by these figures.

"The site issue is also questionable - if Tauheedul comes here with 600 pupil, plus its sixth form, it's almost the same as our pupil role."

The Telegraph asked the council why it had not released the figures.

A statement from Peter Morgan, strategic director of children's services, said: "We carried out a comprehensive schedule of activities including well-publicised open days, drop-in sessions, and a widely distributed consultation document.

"We receive public inquiries on different aspects of BSF and all inquiries to date have been answered and co-ordinated responses pulled together when required."