AN MP has joined the row over the proposed closure of a tiny village school.

Parents have vowed to fight the closure of Tosside Primary School, Gisburn Forest, tooth and nail.

A question mark hangs over the future of the establishment after cuts in government funding for schools with small numbers of children.

The number of pupils at the school, which recently received a glowing report from government inspectors, has dropped from 26 to nine in eight years.

County councillors gave the go-ahead for a consultation exercise into the future of the tiny school, on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border in Ribble Valley, earlier this year.

Concerned parents held talks to see what action could be taken and school governors wrote to education chiefs warning they would strongly oppose closure.

Education bosses have acknowledged that the nearest alternative Lancashire school for Tosside pupils is five miles away and, if the school closes, most parents are likely to send their children to establishments in North Yorkshire.

Now Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans has held an emergency meeting with governors, teachers and parents. He said he would be giving his full support to keeping the school open for many more years.

"The threat by the Lancashire Education Authority to close the school is impractical, unfair and potentially disastrous for the Tosside community. To threaten to close a school that costs the authority a tiny fraction of its budget is absurd.

"There is no doubt whatsoever that Tosside villagers want the school to stay open. It provides a valuable resource to the community and this fight is about more than economics, it is about giving support and understanding to rural areas.

"Those at County Hall who say the figures just do not add up should look more closely at the extremely low level of other services provided in Tosside and appreciate that villagers deserve their fair share.

"Our message is for education bosses to back down and keep the future of this community secure," he said.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said the findings of the consultation exercise were expected in September.

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