A PRIMARY school which was saved from closure at the 11th hour earlier this year is facing a fresh threat.

Worcestershire County Council is starting a consultation on plans to close Malvern Hills Primary School's nursery class.

The news comes just 10 months after the Office of the Schools Adjudicator rejected proposals from the council that the Bluebell Close school should shut its doors due to falling pupil numbers.

The school's governing body had put together an action plan - which included promoting the nursery to increase numbers on the roll - but the county council says this has not happened.

Director of children's services Richard Hubbard said the cost of maintaining the nursery was £29,926-a-year, but with only an average of six children on the roll, this equated to £5,000 per child.

"This school serves an area of deprivation and the council would not look to close a nursery class in this situation if there were no alternative providers in the area," said Mr Hubbard.

"However, there are 10 alternative providers within a one mile radius offering pre-funded places."

But chairman of governors Dinah Sage, said she and fellow governors were appalled to hear the proposals. "News of this will totally sabotage the public confidence we are working so hard to rebuild," she said.

"We are fully committed to building up the nursery, which is crucial to the future of the school. Our present small numbers are due less to the school's former difficulties than to the loss of confidence caused by the council's attempt to close the school."

Mrs Sage also questioned where the council had got its numbers of alternative providers from.

"With our local knowledge we only know of two, maybe three at the most, which offer comparable pre-educational provision."