THE people have spoken - and, for now at least, council leaders are listening.

That was the verdict of campaigners following a dramatic night which saw Prestwich Arts College winning a surprise stay of execution.

Pupils, teachers and parents led the fight to save the school from closure.

They stormed up to Bury Town Hall on Tuesday and brought traffic to a standstill, with Prestwich headteacher Geoff Barlow leading the way, jumping into the crowd to conduct a mass chant of "Save our schools". After a two-hour verbal bombardment, councillors backed down and decided to put the proposals to one side while they carried out further consultation and analysis.

They will come back with plans at a date to be announced - but parents have been warned that the principles behind the report remain.

Prestwich is one of three borough high schools, along with Broad Oak and Derby in Bury, chosen for closure because of falling pupil numbers over coming years.

The plan is to shut Prestwich and expand nearby Parrenthorn, and replace the Bury schools in 2011 with a new £20 million school.

Mr Barlow said he was delighted with the decision. "What we wanted was the right to exist, along with the other schools. There are no failing schools in Bury. People cannot get their heads around what its about.

"The councillors, in very difficult circumstances, have been big enough to say they will look at this again."

And on his part in the road blockade? "At times like this, headteachers have to lead from the front," he said. "This has brought the community together, and they did it with dignity and pride."

Such warm words were in sharp contrast to some comments at the meeting, when parents, teachers and pupils left the executive in no doubt of their feelings.

Mr Roy Wilkes, head of maths at Prestwich, got a standing ovation for his speech: "Why are you choosing to close schools in the three most deprived areas in the borough?

"Are you only interested in the leafy suburbs and the middle-class areas? Are you only interested in white schools?

"I'd like you to look into the face of the pupils here and honestly say to them, if you condemn the school to a slow death over five years, that their education will be protected. I guarantee you, councillors, that it will not."

Pupils queued up to deliver their message. "We love our school, and everyone else loves their's, so there's no need to close them down," said two girls.

A boy, about to do his GCSEs, said: "Teachers will leave. How can you explain to them that their education will not be affected?"

Others were more blunt: "You've had a good education, so don't ruin ours," said one contributor. "Get your facts right, or the door's there, pal," was another.

Ray Austin, chairman of governors at Prestwich, said: "Education in Bury is one of the best in the country, yet we are one of the worst funded in the country. We've schools that embrace inclusion, good schools in urban areas, and they mirror society. We must find a way of bringing the money into Bury to serve these communities."

Many contributors complained that the consultation had been rushed, while others said there was more to schools than just GCSE results. They called for small, local schools rather than so-called "super" schools.

To cheers and applause, council leader Wayne Campbell and the executive came back after a 10-minute recess to announce that a decision would not be made that night.

"We have unanimously agreed that we need time to reconsider some of the views put forward tonight and over the last week," he said. "There are two key areas that have concerned me and others: community cohesion, we need to take another look at that; and while looking to the future of education is essential, I dont think weve answered the questions about protecting the education of the children at the schools now."

But he added: "There's still the problem of the number of spare places in the borough and that still has to be taken into account. I don't want people to walk away and think that's not the case. We have to look at education over the next 20 years."

Coun Campbell will have a meeting next Wednesday with the headteachers of all secondary schools in the borough, including those not affected by the proposals. He has sent an open letter to parents explaining the councils thinking

Lib Dem leader Tim Pickstone, as a governor of Prestwich, had to declare an interest and leave the meeting, as did Labour member Maggie Gibb. His party spokesman Vic D'Albert said: "I welcome the decision, although I am disappointed they did not go further and withdraw the original proposals on the table. The sword still hangs over the schools and will do until they get their act together and sort out this mess."