After a meeting at Jack Lobley school on Wednesday one of the parents said she was disgusted that the council had made the decision to close it without any consultation.

St Chad's secondary in St Chad's Road, Tilbury is to close along with Jack Lobley Primary, in Leicester Road, and the two sites are to merge into one learning campus under proposals.

Georgina Edmead, who has a six-year-old son at Jack Lobley, said: "We asked them if they would listen if we got up a petition from parents who want to keep the school open. They told us the decision had been made and there was no going back.

"I think that is an underhanded way for the council to work, springing it on us like that after the decision had been made.

"Amalgamating the schools will mean that pre-school children will be going to the same school as 16 year-olds who smoke and do goodness-knows-what else.

"My son who has special needs has been doing really well at Jack Lobley. He gets individual attention when he needs it and class sizes are small.

"Tony Blair said 'Education, Education, Education', but this is all about money. The school is only 75 per cent full therefore they are closing it down."

Published Thursday November 29, 2001