Parents fight closure

Some 20 supporters called on East Sussex Council Council members to save the much-loved school and a petition containing 5,000 signatures was handed to local councillor Michael Chartier.

The council argues that the number of pupils at St Anne's is falling.

But parents say the children's education will suffer if they have to go into mainstream schools.

They also say far more pupils require a place at St Anne's than have been admitted.

It is a successful school that should not be closed but treated as a flagship, they claim.

Parents are also concerned that the proposals are being driven by financial considerations, particularly the realisation of the value of the site.

l St Anne's came top of East Sussex special schools in the annual Key Stage Two performance table announced this week.