COUNTY Hall is pushing ahead with the closure of a village primary school.

But it has told parents fighting to save Culham Primary School “the door is open for a reprieve” if they can find a new headteacher by May.

Oxfordshire County Council wants to close the 160-year old school because it has been without a head for more than two years. In that time pupil numbers and funding have dwindled.

Last month, the council’s cabinet gave the school a final four weeks to find a suitable headteacher, present a sustainable budget and a proven demand for at least 40 pupil places.

At yesterday’s cabinet meeting, the school’s chairman of governors Andrew Churchill-Stone said two of the criteria had been met. He added: “I believe the future of this school is down to finding a headteacher. I remain confident the leadership can be solved.”

The county’s cabinet member for schools improvement, Michael Waine, said: “I do not believe we are in a position today to leave the families of pupils dangling on a fine piece of string on the basis of what may or may not happen. We have to go ahead with the closure notice.”

Before the meeting, pupils serenaded councillors with a version of the Pink Floyd song Another Brick in the Wall.

Between now and May, council officers will look at the school’s submission on its budget and pupil numbers, but if a new head is not found, the school is set to close at the end of this academic year.