A SCHOOL earmarked for closure has been voted among the best in the West Midlands by government agency Becta.

Lickhill Primary School in Stourport-on-Severn was presented with a top honour at the prestigious Becta ICT Excellence Awards.

The school, which is also the only Foundation primary school in the county, gained the coveted award for Best Whole School in the West Midlands 2008, beating competition from 14 other institutions including primary and secondary schools from across the region.

In its previous existence as a first school, Lickhill also won the Becta ICT National Excellence Award for Teaching and Learning (primary) in 2006.

The current award places it among the top 12 schools for ICT in the country.

Graeme Harvey, a spokesman for SPICE (Stouport Parents in favour of Choice in Education) said: “This has been done despite a relentless, almost two-year campaign by Worcestershire County Council to rid the local community of this centre of excellence in ICT education.”

Lickhill Primary School has been earmarked for closure and will be merged with Stourport Primary School.

In the county council's consultation, 151 parents with children at the school wrote to the council protesting against the closure proposals.

In total 638 protests were registered against the closure proposal.

Only 53 responses were recorded to be in favour.

Colin Weeden, head of raising achivement and access to learning at the county council the move to create a single primary school was to improve opportunities for achievement for primary-age children."