Concerned parents and residents are rushing to have their say on the future of an Oxford school, writes Madeleine Pennell.

As many as 60 people may want to speak at a special meeting about proposed changes to the status of the joint Anglican and Catholic school, St Augustine's.

And the large number of speakers could mean either a heated debate into the early hours of the morning or the meeting is held over two days.

Councillors and officers are concerned about the rising numbers of people who want to air their views about the future of school.

Two plans are on the table. One, put forward by the governors, is to maintain the joint status of the school but extend the age range from 13-18 to 11-18.

The other plan, proposed by the Catholic archdiocese, is a Catholic-only secondary school with two sites at St Augustine's in Iffley Turn and Cardinal Newman Middle School in Cricket Road. The county council wants to abolish Oxford's middle schools and introduce a two-tier system, and the Catholic archdiocese is taking advantage of this shake-up to push for its own secondary school.

So far, 36 people are on the list to speak at the School Organisation Committee meeting on November 6, but officers think that number could double.

Committee chairman Janet Morgan said: "We may have to consider limiting speakers to three minutes each instead of five. It would be inappropriate to limit the number of people who want to speak.

We may encourage them to double up if they want to make the same points.

"We may have to carry on into the night. Some county council meetings have gone on until 2am before."

The list of speakers will close on November 3 .