A HEADTEACHER still reeling from the news that her school is to close has labelled church bosses "insensitive" and "uncaring".

Margaret Chamberlain, head of St Paul's CE Primary School, spoke out after they sent in property surveyors just a week after the closure announcement.

She said she was contacted out of the blue by a surveyor who wanted to visit the school in Crow Lane, Ramsbottom.

Mrs Chamberlain said: "The diocese didn't even have the decency or common courtesy to contact me and let me know a surveyor would be in touch.

"I can't believe the diocese could do this. I am very upset and angry. It's like they don't care about us at all. We are still all very upset at hearing the school will close but it doesn't seem to matter to them. You don't expect this from a Christian organisation."

Manchester Diocese, however, insist that they outlined the process following the closure at two meetings in September and December of last year, months before a final decision on the future of the school had been made.

Mrs Chamberlain said it was the second "insult" the school had received from the church after the diocese backed local education authority plans to close St Paul's.

Last week the High Court in London dismissed an application by the Save our School Focus Group for a judicial review of the closure decision. The LEA put forward plans to close the school as part of a borough-wide bid to address falling pupil numbers and surplus classroom places.

The news has devastated parents, staff and children.

Manchester Diocese's director of education Janina Ainsworth said: "At the two most recent meetings of the project group which is responsible for managing the closure of the school the process by which the school will be marketed for sale was vigorously outlined.

"The chairman of governors and headteacher of the school were at both meetings, along with representatives of the diocese, LEA and others.

" It's the diocese's responsibility to market the school in the event of closure and it is standard procedure for our estate agents to contact the school to this end. So we feel we have done all we can to keep everyone informed about the process."