Ampfield Primary's new hopes of survival lasted less than 48 hours and yesterday (Thursday) the axe fell on the county's smallest school.

On Tuesday a heart-rending plea from governors persuaded councillors to give Ampfield a lifeline - two days later the county's education chief, Don Allen, took a tougher approach and decided to back officers' recommendations to close it.

Numbers at the Church of England Primary school having plummeted from 67 to 23 in less than two years.

Mr Allen said: "Taken together with the fact that Ampfield is not an isolated, remote community, it suggests that the school is not needed to meet the educational needs of the village. Many of those responding to the consultation placed great emphasis on the status of the school as a Church of England school. The evidence collated by officers indicates that there are sufficient places available in other church schools in the area from which pupils of this school are drawn to meet the demand in the event that Ampfield School is closed. "

He dismissed claims that the school was a focal point of the community. "In fact there are no community activities based on the school and indeed the school has to use the parish recreation ground and the village hall for physical recreation, " he said.

Mr Allen added that the cost of maintaining 23 pupils exceeded the costs which would be incurred if they transferred to other schools.

It had been reported that it was costing almost £10,000 per year per pupil to educate children at Ampfield.

"Given that there is no overall need for the school it is difficult to see how such additional expenditure can be justified since it is only available at the expense of other pupils in the County. " said Mr Allen.

Alan Dowden, Liberal Democrat county councillor for the Baddesley division, which covers Ampfield, said: "I am very disappointed for the staff and parents and most of all the children, they were getting a wonderful education. What is so sad is that the school needed to be given another chance to re-establish themselves, but with the threat of closure it was difficult to get the numbers up. If the PRC committee had given them a chance I believe they would have re-established themselves. It is a sad day for Ampfield."

On Tuesday the county's education policy review committee voted eight to five against the closure recommendation, with five abstaining.

At the meeting Ampfield's chairman of governors Tony Knight made his impassioned plea for the school, which went through such a bad spell two years ago that some parents in the village decided to send their children elsewhere, to be given a fresh chance.

With the school having been under the threat of closure for 18 months, he said: "All the governors want is some natural justice. They ask for a period of three years free from the threat of closure. If the numbers do not recover after three years, we will volunteer the school for closure." In answer to a report which revealed that it cost £9, 823 to educate a child for a year at Ampfield, compared with less than £3,000 at neighbouring schools, Mr Knight said:

"Frankly, it is far more than we need and we tried to give it back. But as members will know, that is not possible." And in stressing that the education now being provided was quality education, he said: "Children come to our school for its Christian ethos and the specialness that comes with