"THE fight will go on" say campaigners trying to save a special school from closure.

The campaign for Crosshill Special School, Blackburn is to continue, despite face-to-face meetings with council bosses who tried to reassure parents.

Blackburn with Darwen Council wants to close the Shadsworth Road school by 2010 as part of the borough-wide £150million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) shake-up.

Protesters against closure of the borough's only school for children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD), have collected thousands of signatures on petitions.

Council education chiefs met with teachers, governors and 32 parents. Senior teacher and campaign leader Peter Rush said: "We are not against inclusion but we need to be convinced it will work. We have a haven of excellence but they want to close it without knowing if a mainstream alternative will work. That's why the fight will go on."

David McDonald, whose 15-year-old son James has been at Crosshill for four years, said: "If they still plan to close it, they'll have a war on their hands."

Peter Morgan, director of children's services said: "BSF is an opportunity to respond to changing needs of our all of our pupils. We have 6,000 in the borough with supported additional educational needs, only 260 attend special schools in the borough, and that number is decreasing."