AN infants school in Burnley could be closed by the end of the summer term if proposals are agreed by councillors next week.

The future of Wood Top Infant School, in Cambridge Street, will be discussed at a meeting of Lancashire County Council's schools and general purposes sub-committee on Tuesday.

The school's status has been uncertain for almost a year since it was one of three highlighted in an area of falling pupil numbers.

It was also subject to special measures following a critical OFSTED report in May, last year, in which the school's strengths were said to be far outweighed by its many weaknesses.

A report to the Tuesday meeting says that although the closure of Wood Top would be one step nearer to re-balancing the demand for places, further action would still be necessary to reduce the supply of places in the South West area of Burnley.

There are currently 1,000 unfilled places within a two-mile radius of Wood Top and it is expected this figure could rise to more than 1,500 during the next four or five years.

Councillors called for a full study into the roles of Wood Top and nearby Myrtle Bank and Hargher Clough Junior School, in January this year. It was suggested that one solution to the problem of unfilled places was to amalgamate all three schools to obtain better facilities but governors at Wood Top pointed out that their ideal preference would be to continue as a separate Church of England School in their own building.

The availability of alternative Church of England Schools for the pupils to transfer to was said to be limited.

If the sub-committee decides to recommend the closure of the school and it is accepted by the Education and Cultural Services Committee, statutory notices are expected to be issued by mid-March.

After a one-month objection period, the final decision would be made by the School Organisation Committee and the school could be forced to close by June 30.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.