SCHOOL governors are ready to fight the closure of any small primary schools under Herefordshire Council's plans for far-reaching changes to education in the county.

The changes - based on predictions of plummeting pupil numbers and the subsequent loss of central government schools funding - are billed as one of the biggest and most controversial decisions the council will ever have to take, with the prospect of bitter political and community battles ahead.

Replacement schools could be built and many more refurbished with the money the council says it can get from the government if the changes are made successfully.

Headteachers and school governors were being briefed about the plan at the time of going to press.

But a meeting of the Herefordshire Association of School Governors (HASG) on Tuesday has already voted to "actively oppose" any school closures.

*For full story see this week's Hereford Times.