THE smallest primary school in the county has lost its battle to stay open.

Ripple Primary School, near Deal, will shut its doors to pupils next year after an independent committee backed county council plans to close it as part of a drive to cut surplus classroom places.

The decision by the Kent School Organisation Committee on Tuesday has devastated parents, staff and pupils who just two years ago celebrated their success in fighting off Kent County Council’s the threat of closure.

Governors and school supporters had hoped that a final decision would once again be made by the Schools Adjudicator but that hope was dashed when three different groups represented on the committee backed the latest closure plan.

It means KCC will be able to push ahead with shutting Ripple at the end of August next year as part of its wider plans for a range of school closures and mergers across all the county. About 30 pupils at Ripple will be forced to find places at other schools in the area.

A clearly shocked chairman of governors Andy Roberts, who pleaded for a reprieve at the meeting, said KCC had launched a vendetta against the school after failing in its first attempt to shut it.

“I'm afraid eventually the LEA [local education authority] won.With the power, the money, the expertise and the men in grey suits that they have, I suppose it was inevitable they would grind us into the deck," he said.

Closing a school with less than 30 pupils would have virtually no impact on KCC’s plans to deal with around 14,000 surplus places, he added.

“I am very upset and I know pupils will be devastated. But my one duty now is to ensure that children receive the best possible education up until they have to leave and to support our staff through what will be a difficult time.”

KCC’s cabinet member for education Cllr John Simmonds told the meeting that he could see no way in which the school’s long-term future could be guaranteed in the face of continuing falling numbers.

“Because of its size, I have a huge question mark over the long-term sustainability. There are vacancies at other schools in Deal and we are trying to create viable schools. I am very sorry for Ripple but I do believe the children can be looked after elsewhere,” he said.

Meanwhile, there was backing from the committee for the merger of South Deal Primary School and Mongeham (correct) Primary School, despite protests from governors of South Deal.

Cllr Mike Eddy (Lab) said the plan to open a new school on the Mongeham site for 315 pupils next September was nonsensical, saying it was less accessible than the South Deal site.

Education chiefs said merger was necessary because pupil numbers at both schools had fallen significantly in recent years, with more than 300 spare places between them.

Meanwhile, there was better news for Melbourne Primary School and The Powell School, both in Dover. KCC will have to wait for the Schools Adjudicator to rule on its plans for a merger of the two after the committee expressed misgivings over the capacity of Powell School – where the new school would be – to cater for pupils at Melbourne with special needs, particularly those with physical disabilities.

In another decision, the committee backed the merger of two Ashford schools – Ashford South and Oak Tree primary.