PARENTS fighting to save a primary school from closure have lodged an application for a judicial review.

Campaigners battling to keep open St Paul's CE Primary School at Ramsbottom have submitted their request to the High Court in London.

They want a judge to review Bury Council's decision to shut the school.

Parents were devastated when an independent inspector upheld the council's decision to close the school because of falling numbers. Now they have enlisted the help of a barrister who is advising them on the judicial review process, which can be complex and lengthy.

Before the council pressed ahead with the closure, the Bury Schools Organisation Committee had not been able make a unanimous decision on the school's future. The Government's schools ajudicator, Professor Philip Hunter, had to intervene.

He ruled there was no evidence to suggest that pupils' education would suffer if the school closed and argued that the predicted numbers of youngsters wanting places there in the future appeared accurate.

The parents of youngsters at St Paul's are closely monitoring the battle of campaigners attempting to stop Affetside Primary School from being closed.

Mother-of-four, Irene Todd, from Ramsbottom, said: "All the parents still feel very strongly about keeping the school open and we feel we've got nothing to lose in fighting all the way."

Members of the Save Affetside School action group were left disappointed when the High Court ruled against them last month. They arenow waiting for their legal team to come up with a plan of action and hope to apply for leave to appeal.

They are also waiting to hear about the outcome of an investigation by the Department for Education and Skills into the closure process.