EDUCATION bosses have hit back at criticism from parents over plans to close Blackburn's Beardwood High School.

A group of parents are campaigning to save the Preston New Road school, which is earmarked for closure under the council's £150million Building Schools for the Future scheme.

Spokesperson David Smith said Blackburn with Darwen Council did not ask people what they wanted, because closing such a good school "goes against all common sense".

He accused the council of having a "hidden agenda" of trying to fill spaces at other, less successful, schools, and said the three bigger super-schools that were planned were not necessarily a good thing, but would be cheaper for the council to run.

But Coun Chris Thayne, executive member for children's services, said that the consultation carried out before the proposals were drawn up was extensive.

He said: "The council consulted on proposals that had been developed over the last 12 months working in partnership with all the secondary schools in Black-burn and Darwen.

"Headteachers and other stakeholders were fully involved in the discussions that led to the development of the proposals.

"Consultation then took place with other groups including parents and the wider community."

Regarding the parents' suggestion that closing Beardwood is a ploy to fill places at other schools, Coun Thayne said: "All four community schools in the authority have shown a significant rate of improve-ment in recent years.

"Overall pupil numbers in Blackburn and Darwen are predicted to fall by 500 pupils by the end of the BSF programme, in 2015/6. Pupil numbers in the east of Blackburn are on the increase and decreasing in the west.

"These trends have been taken into consideration when planning capacity at Pleckgate, Witton Park and the new East Blackburn School.

"This has got to be a blueprint for community provision across the borough and its essential that east Blackburn has a centre of excellence both for learning and teaching and the wider needs of the community."

He added: "Bigger schools will not have bigger class sizes under BSF, but the size of the learning environ-ments will be more generous than in current schools."