A PARISH council has called on Shelley College to withdraw its controversial expansion plan.

Councillors on Kirkburton Parish Council met on Thursday evening and resolved to oppose headteacher John McNally’s proposal to accept year 7 and 8 children from 2014.

Parents fear the plan will cause Kirkburton and Scissett Middle Schools to close. The school falls within the council’s patch and councillors have also said the idea will have a knock on effect to first schools and put extra pressure on local roads.

Proposing the motion, Green Party councillor, Peter Pankhurst, said: "We regard these proposals as an assault on the middle school system which has provided a high standard of education for thousands of local people for many years."

Kirklees Green Party chief, Clr Andrew Cooper, who also sits on the parish council, also called on the governors at Shelley Academy to immediately withdraw the proposals.

He added: "The Principal and the governors should recognise that their attempts to restructure the education system in a predatory top down fashion are directly opposed by the vast majority of local people.

"They have bitten off more than they can chew and should immediately withdraw these proposals."

The council has also vowed to write to MP Simon Reevell calling on him to publicly back the Keep Shelley Pyramid For Our Children campaign.