PROTESTERS who want to save special schools like Larkrise in Trowbridge made their voices heard by holding a rally outside Wiltshire Council’s headquarters on Friday.

In the next month, the authority will deliver its verdict about Wiltshire’s special school provision review, which could mean Larkrise, St Nicholas in Chippenham and Rowdeford near Devizes all close.

And although the deadline to comment on the plan ended in late July, protesters gathered outside County Hall to show their support for the the special schools.

Kayleigh Ramplin, who has a child at Larkrise, said: “The worst thing that could happen is for there to be a super school, that is the last thing we want. You lose that personal touch if you do that. That is what makes these schools so exceptional.

“We are still fighting because we want to make it absolutely clear that Larkrise should be saved.”

Parents and families connected to the schools have been, on the whole, deeply opposed to Wiltshire Council’s proposals to merge all three schools.

Sarah Fleming, whose son goes to Larkrise, added: “It seems to be children with special needs get the short end of the stick. You never hear ‘We are going to close Clarendon’ for instance.

“I think the council has already made up their mind. They are paying lip service to the schools.

“These children cannot speak for themselves so we are here to speak for them.

“Some travel a long way already and if they were to merge the schools, that would become even more difficult.”

The other options are to develop two of them or leave the schools as they are, if sufficient funding is found.

Children’s services cabinet member Cllr Laura Mayes has said it needs to create up to 70 extra places by 2026 in the north of Wiltshire to meet the increased demand.

Shirley Ramplin added: “This is such a vital resource to so many people.

“You would lose a lot of what is special about these places if you made a super school.

“You would lose that intimacy, which is not a good thing. We want to make our voices heard.”

Protesters also highlighted how Wiltshire Council should make use of the nearby Ashton Street Centre, which they say could be perfect for extra special school places.

The authority got £100,000 from the government in February to bulldoze the centre.

A petition to save Larkrise attracted more than 6,000 signatures, in person and online. To sign the petition visit www.change.org/p/help-larkrise-special-needs-school-trowbridge