THE future of a Ramsbottom primary school will be determined on Thursday (Oct 17).

An independent school's adjudicator will rule whether St Paul's CE Primary will close.

Bury's Local Education Authority want to shut the school to help address falling pupil rolls and surplus places.

Although the closure plans were passed by the executive committee, Bury Council's decision making body, the Schools Organisation Committee, (SOC) which met last month, failed to reach an unanimous decision.

The SOC is made up of LEA representatives, Church of England members and schools representatives. It was the school representatives' group which voted against the proposals. Now the independent adjudicator will decide the fate of St Paul's.

Andrew Todd, a leading member of Save Our School campaign which was set up earlier this year to fight the closure proposals, urged local people to attend the meeting and show their support for the primary school.

"This is when their presence and their voices, in overwhelming numbers , will show the adjudicator just how much we do all care for our school," he said.

The meeting takes place at Christ Church Methodist on Stubbins Lane at 6.30pm.