PARENTS in the New Forest have launched a campaign to save one of the area's top schools.

Families are furious at moves to close the highly successful Blackfield Infant School and merge it with an adjoining junior school.

Blackfield is one of several villages affected by proposals to give education in the Totton and Waterside area a massive shake-up. The county council says falling rolls may necessitate closure or merger of a total of 13 schools.

However, campaigning parents have launched a petition to save Blackfield Infant School and are staging a public meeting on the site next Tuesday at 7.30pm.

The campaign is being led by Maxine Smith, of Exbury Road, Blackfield, who has two children at the school.

"It's a lovely little school which has just celebrated its 50th anniversary," said Mrs Smith.

"The education is fantastic and the teachers are brilliant."

A school spokesman said: "Amalgamating the infant and junior schools would result in the closure of the infant school and the creation of a very large primary school.

"The infant school has had two excellent Ofsted reports. The atmosphere is welcoming and caring, and the standard of education is first class."

Posters advertising the public meeting say: "Blackfield Infant School has an excellent record. The ethos is caring and ensures that everyone reaches their full potential.

"Would the same atmosphere exist in a large primary school? We don't think so."

Fawley parish councillor Alexis McEvoy is backing the campaign. She said: "It's not appropriate to merge infant and junior schools and have children as young as four sharing the same playground as 11 year olds."

Education chiefs are also studying the future of five other schools in the Blackfield, Fawley and Holbury area.

Cllr McEvoy added: "I hope parents will get together and come up with alternative ways of dealing with the problems caused by surplus places. I'd like to see the future of education driven by schools and parents rather than have ultimatums put to us by the county council."

Plans to carry out a review of schools were announced by the county council in March. The 28 primary schools in the eastern half of the New Forest have a total of 734 surplus places. The figure is expected to rise to 1,312 by 2008.

A county council spokesman said the authority aimed to address the issue and thus ensure that resources were used where they were most needed.

She declined to comment on individual schools, saying the review had gone out for public consultation.