THE headteacher of Prestwich Arts College has hit out at plans to close his school, saying staff and pupils have been made 'sacrificial lambs'.

Mr Geoff Barlow has vowed to fight the proposals all the way and is appealing to every parent - even those who do not have children at the school - to support his campaign to keep the Heys Road school open.

Prestwich, together with Broad Oak and Derby High schools, have been singled out for the axe under council plans to tackle falling school rolls. They have been selected because of a combination of exam results, parental choice and the condition of the buildings. Town hall leaders will officially vote on the plans on Tuesday and, if approved by the Schools Organisation Committee (SOC), will be implemented in autumn 2007.

Under the proposals, Prestwich will shut completely, while nearby Parrenthorn will be expanded.

The Derby and Broad Oak, meanwhile, will close and be replaced by a new £20 million school, which bosses are looking to build at Bury Ground by 2011. An angry Mr Barlow said: "Here we have a catchment area which is different to other schools, and we draw pupils from Northern Manchester and Salford, which means we have the second most deprived catchment area in Bury. When you compare our exam results to St Monica's, our percentage is not as high but compared to similar circumstances we get top bench grades. First preferences might not be high with Bury parents but we are full in every year group and are still taking pupils on appeal even now." Mr Barlow said his staff were angry and disappointed at the decision and determined to fight it 'using all the means at their disposal'.

He said: "My staff have asked me what have we done wrong?"

"We have specialist status, we are attractive and accessible and we are proud of the fact that parents in this area and beyond want to send their children to us. It is undeniable that Prestwich is a good school but you could say we have been a victim of our own success.

"Parents are taking advantage of the quality of education that Bury provides, including extra district parents. I am committed to this place and I owe it to parents who have sent their children to us to stand up and be counted."

A campaign meeting will be held at the school this Monday, starting at 7pm, and is open to anyone who supports the school.

Mr Mick Fitzgerald, headteacher of Parrenthorn, was happy his school had survived but expressed sympathy for those which had not.

"Clearly there will be short-term problems to solve and people will be upset at the outcome, but all the headteachers realise that to do nothing was not an option," he said. "The teachers in Bury are among the best I've worked with: the one thing that's held us back is the quality of the buildings.

"It is a fantastic opportunity for the education of young people across the borough, because it promises massive long-term investment from the Government and the council."

The council says that there will be 2,400 empty places in the borough's high schools in a decade's time: and as funding follows the pupil, some would effectively go broke if nothing is done. They say the closures will allow them to pump more money into the remaining schools - at least half a million pounds - with better facilities and an expanded curriculum.

They say the decision in no way reflects the quality of the schools' leadership or teaching.

If the executive approves the proposals on Tuesday, parents and professionals have a final six weeks to make their views known before the Schools Organisation Committee decides for good.

Council leader Wayne Campbell said: "This is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make, but we have to make hard decisions to keep the high standards of education that Bury has set. We've got to look to the future and give children the best chance."

He said the council had "listened and responded accordingly" to the 2,329 who took part in the past few months of consultation.

"This will be good news: a new school and building in East Bury, and an enlarged refurbished school at Parrenthorn."

Coun Campbell said it was too early to say what would happen to the current school sites, but he promised that any money raised through selling them off would be ploughed back into education. "Any assumption that the council would pick schools on the most valuable sites has proved not to be the case."

However, finance bosses say the costs of redundancy and early retirement could cost each school £800,000, which the sale of the sites might pay for.

The precise recommendations are:

1) to close both Broad Oak and Derby with effect from autumn 2007, and operate from a split site until the new 900-pupil school can be built. This would reduce capacity by 760 places.

2) Prestwich Arts College to stop admitting pupils from autumn 2007. Anyone then on roll would continue to be educated there until 2011, when all existing year groups will have passed through the school. Parrenthorn, meanwhile, will be retained and enhanced to include a sixth form and 900 pupils. A federation between Prestwich and Parrenthorn could be set up to maintain standards during this transition period. All told, the move would reduce capacity by 765 places.

These recommendations follow criteria which were drawn up for the eight state schools affected by threatened closure. The report says that there is an overlap in the community served by Broad Oak and Derby, and to close only one could increase segregation in a deprived area. Prestwich, meanwhile, could soon be taking the majority of its pupils from outside the borough, while many parents in the catchment area do not choose the school as their first priority.

Councillors expect to receive more money by 2014 under the Government's Building Schools for the Future programme to refurbish all its remaining high schools.

Mr Mark Sanders, the council's chief executive, admitted there may be redundancies but the council would deal with those the best it could.

He also repeated an earlier promise that Parrenthorn was not given preferential treatment because it had recently won £7.5 million for refurbishment.Following the shock announcement, Mr Barlow said: "Being a modern headteacher, it is not just a job but a way of life.

"You come to work with a huge community of people. I have only been at Prestwich Arts College for three years and in that respect I have no right to feel territorial or protective about the school but you invest so much emotion into leading a school that you cannot avoid feeling angry or disappointed about the decision to close. I feel we have been made into sacrificial lambs."

Although Mr Barlow said he agreed with the council's need for a strategic review of secondary school provision, he believes there is justification for retaining Prestwich Arts College.

Referring to the reasons put forward for the decision, Mr Barlow said: "Every school in Bury has poor buildings. In terms of exam results, our GSCE results have risen consecutively over the past three or four years and the LEA says we have a rising profile.