ONE hundred people - mostly teachers and support staff - attended a public meeting to hear presentations from three organisations who want to be involved in running Southampton's two new schools.

It was the first of six public meetings before a decision is made in July to formally close Millbrook Community School, Oaklands Community School, Grove Park Business and Enterprise College and Woolston School Language College.

Education bosses have recommended the creation of two new schools on the Oaklands and Grove Park sites.

It is all part of a major revamp of the city's secondary education system designed to remove around 1,000 spare places linked to declining birth rates and families moving out of the city.

During the meeting at Oaklands Community School, Oasis Community Learning and the United Learning Trust outlined their plans.

Steve Chalke of Oasis Community Learning said his organisation already had five academies nationwide and aimed to provide " a rich and balanced" education to all pupils and create "lifelong learning hubs."

While David Hanson, of The United Learning Trust, which runs 13 academies nationwide, said the trust was a "national organisation anchored locally" with existing pay scales and admission arrangements kept in place.

Teacher Glyn Oliver, who is a member of the Anti Academies Alliance, said: "I do not want to privatise our education system just as I do not want to privatise our hospitals. They have to be accountable to the local community."