HUNDREDS of people have joined a group on the social networking site Facebook in a bid to safeguard the future of a York school.

About 437 people have signed up to a group called Burnholme Under Threat – Help Us Save It after rumours that York’s smallest secondary school, Burnholme Community College, could close.

The group has also got an online petition [see related links below] and both aim to show the amount of support in the local community for keeping the school open.

One of the people behind the site is former Burnholme pupil Kerry Greaves, who lives in Heworth.

She said: “I was at the school from 1990-1995 and I left school with 11 GCSEs. I went on to be in retail management and without Burnholme I wouldn’t have been able to do that.

“Myself and a few others are trying to put together a petition to put forward to help Burnholme get funding to stay open as no one wants it to close.”

The Press reported on Thursday that 15-year-old Burnholme pupil Lee Wright has written to both the Queen and Prime Minister in an attempt to end the uncertainty surrounding the school’s future.

Lee, of Hazel Garth, Burnholme, is under the stress of studying for his GCSEs, but he says continuing speculation about the school’s future is only adding to pupils’ anxiety.

In January, The Press reported City of York Council’s executive member for children’s services, Coun Carol Runciman who said falling pupil numbers at schools such as Burnholme, which has 374 students on its roll compared to a capacity of 600, meant some tough decisions might have to be taken.

She emphasised no decisions would be made behind closed doors and proper consultation would be carried out.

Peter Dwyer, the council’s director of learning culture and children’s services, said: “We are working closely and positively with Burnholme Community College and local schools to consider the pattern and impact of parental choice within this local community.

“Once those initial discussions, have been completed, we will be able to bring forward any proposals for widespread public consultation.

“We do warmly congratulate the school on the recent inspection result, which is a great credit to the leadership team, governors and students themselves.

“I would reiterate that at all times the council will be seeking to ensure that young people in this area can access the highest quality of educational provision.”