THE community turned out in force to try to save a small primary school with "the sword of Damacles" hanging over it.

Around 150 people attended a meeting at Blagdon Hill Primary School to plead with local education authority representatives to keep it open.

Tuesday's meeting was moved to the playground because the hall can only hold 100 due to fire regulations.

Somerset County Council is considering the future of Blagdon Hill and four other small Somerset primary schools at Binegar, Hemington, Kingsdon and Winsham.

Dozens of people praised the education at 20-pupil Blagdon Hill and its vital role in the community.

The meeting was told the school could continue as it is; form a federation with another school, which is currently being investigated; or close.

Earlier, county representatives met school governors and head teacher Linda O'Neill, while the Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Rt Rev Peter Price visited.

Afterwards, Jonathan Langdon, chairman of the governors, said: "We had about 150 people here, which is a phenomenal turnout for a village with just 600 homes.

"There wasn't a single person who was other than supportive of the school remaining open."

THE COUNTY'S CASE: *The LEA is bound by parental choice - the authority cannot force parents to send children to a small school.

*There are 4,000 less pupils in Somerset schools than five years ago.

*The average cost of funding a pupil in Somerset is £3,500 - it is £7,700 at Blagdon Hill.

*Children in small schools have limited opportunities for making friends their own age.

*More than 40 primary children in Blagdon Hill attends schools elsewhere.

*Somerset has problems recruiting teachers and heads in small schools.

A SELECTION OF WHAT PEOPLE AT THE MEETING SAID: *The children are individual - it's like a family.

*It's a good school with excellent staff and governors - if it withers and dies, our rural communities will die.

*My children came out of the school balanced individuals and have gone on to be successful.

*Talking of closure is messing with our children's education.

*The head teacher is fantastic.

*Blagdon Hill is perfect for my son, but we're not sending him here because the Sword of Damacles is hanging over it with all this talk of possible closure.

*We'd save the health service vast sums and keep some people out of prison if pupils came to schools like this.

*When I called County Hall for a list of local schools, they mentioned every other school apart from Blagdon Hill - you're not promoting it to attract more children.

*Some of the children aren't ready to go to larger schools - you need small schools to give them confidence.

*We're in dire need of a community hall - the school is willing for the hall to be used in this way.

*We had a lottery bid turned down for a parish hall and the school hall is the biggest venue in the village.

*The standard of teaching is absolutely amazing.

*I live in Weston-super-Mare but decided to send my daughter here because it's so good.

*A significant number of children in the village go to private education. And Blagdon Hill is usually a place where people move to when they already have a child at school in Taunton.