ANGRY parents at a closure-threatened high school have declared “war” on Flintshire Council.

Campaigners fighting plans to shut Mynydd Isa’s Argoed High School are demanding the school be removed from the council’s shake-up of secondary education.

In August they hand delivered more than 40,000 letters to the homes of all 70 Flintshire councillors urging them to take Argoed out of the options under consideration.

But parent Stacey Kelly, who is one of the campaign leaders, said: “When the council announced the plans were on hold we said we had won the battle but there was still a war ahead. We are now ready to start that war.

“We have clearly laid out the reasons why Argoed does not fit the criteria to be included in the plans and why it should be removed.

“We will do whatever it takes to save our school. We will send twice as many letters as we did last time if needed.”

She added: “The uncertainty is extremely damaging to the school. Parents are now looking at which high school to send their children to next year. They won’t send them to a school with an uncertain future.”

Campaigners have now written another letter to all councillors calling on them to table a motion to remove Argoed from the options under consideration immediately.

Mrs Kelly said the council had to show it could improve the standard of education available at a school in order to include it in its modernisation plans.

But a recent Welsh Government report placed Argoed in band one, alongside the best-performing schools in Wales.

Mrs Kelly added: “We will continue to fight until our school is safe. There is no reason for it to be included.

“If the people we have elected to represent us won’t listen then we have no option but to go to the Welsh Government.

“We are holding a meeting outside Argoed at 3pm on Sunday. It is an ideal chance for councillors to speak with parents and find out more about our school.”

Flintshire Council has put forward several options for modernising the county’s schools including amalgamating Argoed with Elfed High School in Buckley.

Proposals were also put forward to create a ‘super school’ on the campus of Holywell High School for both primary and secondary education and to merge John Summers High School in Queensferry with Connah’s Quay High School.

But the plans have angered many parents, pupils and councillors and initial consultation events were beset by problems.

Council chiefs put the plans on hold at a special meeting in August but the executive has now approved a new four-stage consultation process which looks set to get under way next month.