JUBILANT scenes marked the last day of term at York’s smallest secondary school, as the threat of closure was lifted.

Pupils and teachers at Burnholme Community College formed a human chain around their school to symbolise the fact it would not be taken from them.

Their celebrations came as York’s political chiefs announced they would back a recovery plan to keep the school open.

As part of the agreement, City of York Council will also write off the school’s £121,000 debts.

Burnholme has faced an uncertain future since January, when the council’s head of children’s services, Coun Carol Runciman, said falling pupil numbers meant some tough decisions might have to be taken.

But pupils and teachers fought a six-month campaign to persuade councillors to save the school, with Year 10 student Lee Wright even writing letters to The Queen and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, appealing for help.

An elated Lee told The Press: “It feels great. We’ve all been so nervous waiting for the decision and it’s such a huge relief.

“We’re going to have a massive celebration. It just means so much to me that we can stay at Burnholme, experience the education and carry on having a good laugh together here.

“The school is great and it always will be.”

Coun Runciman said the challenge would now be to encourage more local parents to send their children to Burnholme, as the school only has 350 pupils on its books, compared with a capacity of 600.

“This is a great school and the head teacher and his staff do a marvellous job for the young people who come here,” she said.

“They are totally committed to helping their students develop to their full potential and I am very proud of what they have achieved. I am delighted that the school will stay at the centre of the community and can carry on providing a high standard of education.”

The school, which specialises in business and enterprise, was judged to be “good” in its recent Ofsted inspection – with the potential to become “outstanding”.

Head teacher Simon Gumn said he wanted to thank everybody who had backed the school’s campaign to stay open, including The Press.

“This is a terrific vote of confidence for the staff and students of Burnholme,” he said.

“We will return in September refreshed and renewed, ready to take Burnholme Community College into the next phase of our mission to secure a good education for all young people at Burnholme Community College.”

The leader of York’s Labour group, Coun David Scott, added the support of his party.

He said: “We now need to see Burnholme properly supported by the local authority to succeed in the way that its teachers and governors know it can.”