THE majority of pupils and respondents to the consultation on the future of Townsend Primary School do not want it to close.

Out of the 161 written responses 125, or 78 per cent, did not agree with Bournemouth Borough Council's proposal to close the school. Twenty six respondents were in favour.

The majority of respondents also disagreed with the council's arrangements for the placement of children in September if the school does close.

Many were also concerned about the impact of additional pupils on the four schools named as recipients.

Fifty-nine replies mentioned the school had improved and that it should be given more time others thought that the estimated £72,000 for transporting children to new schools should be spent improving Townsend.

Some respondents replied on unofficial response forms identifying perceived problems with the consultation process.

Twenty-two of these thought the impact on the community had not been measured and 16 said the non-statutory consultation had been flawed, making the statutory consultation invalid.

The majority of children at the school wanted it to stay open.

They told the consultant the school is now very good and should be given a chance to continue to improve.

One child said "Everyone likes Mr Jessop" another said "There are lots of helpers and they are kind and they won't have jobs". When presented with the idea of closure, they said "All our effort will be wasted," and "We'll all be failures".

Some pupils worried that if they moved to other schools, they might be bullied.

One child said: "All the bullies have left and gone to another school, that's why it's good here so if this school gets turned into a car park I don't want to get bullied again."

The school governing body put forward an alternative plan to the council.

It suggested reducing the planned admission numbers to either 15 or 20, for pupils to be taught in mixed age classes, developing a new staffing structure and updating the building.

The governors believe: "An excellent school can be re-established with a close-knit family atmosphere and long term high standards of pupil progress and achievement can be secured."

The consultation report is on the council's website.