THE fate of Northcourt Primary School in Gravesend will be decided by county councillors next week.

The 10 councillors who make up County Hall's ruling Conservative cabinet will vote on whether to back the proposed closure in the face of efforts by parents to keep the struggling primary school open.

The cabinet is expected to back closure and will begin the formal process of issuing public notices at the end of March.

If there are no objections, the school could close formally at the end of August.

However, KCC's decision next Monday may not be the end of the story. The proposal will still need to be backed the Kent School Organisation Committee, an independent group made up of parent, teacher and LEA representatives.

If this committee does not back the plan unanimously, it must be referred to the independent Schools Adjudicator, whose job is to rule on closures where there is no local consensus.

Last time Northcourt was threatened with closure, the adjudicator stepped in to block KCC's plans.