EFFORTS to save a high-achieving school from being closed under changes to the county's education system are gaining widespread support.

Jonathan Schofield

EFFORTS to save a high-achieving school from being closed under changes to the county's education system are gaining widespread support.

The first meeting aimed at persuading Suffolk County Council to turn Stoke-by-Nayland Middle School into a flagship secondary was held last week at Boxford Primary School.

South Suffolk MP Tim Yeo, who was at the meeting, told concerned parents they must put together a petition and a sound proposal for keeping the school to stand a chance of success.

Within a few days almost 200 people had signed up online and the campaign group, headed by Nicky West, will be holding further meetings tonight and tomorrow.

She said: “The reaction has been brilliant and we are getting lots of support. We need to keep this momentum now and I'm asking everyone to forward all emails they receive on our campaign to as many people as they can - in the end it will be numbers that count.”

Tonight's meeting will take place at 7.30pm in the Stoke-by-Nayland Golf and Country Club and the second tomorrow at 2pm in the same venue.

Mrs West, 36, of Stone Street, said the main points of the meeting would be to collate a strong case in keeping the school as a high school, resources for the campaign and how to spread the SOS-Stoke-by-Nayland email address.

Under Suffolk County Council's proposals to change from a three-tier to a two-tier education system Stoke by Nayland Middle School would be closed and youngsters from the area bussed to Sudbury.

Mr Yeo said the closure of the school would be another setback for rural life in Suffolk and a further erosion of choice in where parents sent their children to school.

To join the campaign email sos-stoke-by-nayland@hotmail.co.uk or nickywestphotos@btinternet.com.