WEST Somerset College is to press ahead with controversial plans to lower its age range - despite a public consultation showing overwhelming objection to the proposal.

Governors at the college - which dropped the word 'community' from its title at the start of the autumn term - voted this week to seek approval from the Secretary of State to extend its age range from September 2015 to allow it to enrol 11 and 12-year-old students.

Currently, the college caters for 13 to 19-year-olds.

The decision, described as "a precautionary measure", was taken despite 89 per cent of the 750 individuals and organisations which responded to a consultation on the issue declaring they were against it.

Just 11 per cent - 80 responses - backed the proposal.

The college has previously insisted that the move was a specific initiative to tackle the impact of funding cuts on year seven and eight pupils from Dulverton Middle School, who under the proposals could transfer to the college from the start of the new school year in 2015.

The school has suffered unprecedented cuts in its budget following the Department of Education's introduction of new funding criteria, resulting in the loss of at least £100,000 and a growing financial black hole.

But critics of the age range change - including the seven schools which make up the Exmoor Coast Federation - fear it could threaten the future of all three of West Somerset's middle schools and even lead to the closure of some small first schools, destabilising the existing three-tier system of education in the district.

However, following the close of the consultation at the end of July and a series of public meetings, governors at the college agreed on Monday to seek approval from the Secretary of State to extend the age range.

But they also agreed to set up a joint working party to investigate the issues faced by younger children in 11 to 19 years schools, along with the possibility of the college offering secondary education wholly or partially in Dulverton and the options for maintaining or extending the Exmoor Curriculum - a Dulverton specific initiative focusing on the local environment.

In addition, the governors agreed that, if appropriate, they would develop an admissions strategy for consultation.

But they made it clear that they would take no further steps to change the age range of students - other than requesting formal approval from the Secretary of State - unless it was in response to a proposal by a partner middle school to change its age range.

The working party, which will include representatives from Dulverton, Minehead and Danesfield middle schools, is expected to report back by December 9 at the latest, after which a decision will be taken on whether or not to consult on changes to the college's admissions policy.

The motion approved by the governors highlights their gratitude to the 300 people or organisations who expressed specific concerns or made suggestions in their responses to the consultation and the 160 people who attended the consultation meetings in Dulverton, Minehead and Williton.

They said they had noted the widespread concern about a number of issues:

l The impact of a long bus journey at each end of the school day on the learning of the children concerned.

l The impact on the personal development of those children of being educated on the same site as much older students.

l The impact on the communities of Dulverton and southern Exmoor of 'losing' their young people at an earlier age.

l The possible curtailing of the unique Exmoor Curriculum.

l The impact on other partner schools and the communities that they serve in the event that a change in the college's age range led to calls for the dismantling of the current three-tier structure of school organisation across the area.

"These are all issues that will need to be addressed by Somerset County Council and the governors of the Exmoor Federation (Dulverton Middle, All Saints First and Exford First schools) when they consider the future of secondary education in Dulverton," said the governors.

The college says it remains committed to a vision of a single, coherent system of education for West Somerset which enables students to achieve their potential, meets the unique needs of the area and its scattered communities, keeps transition costs from one school to another as low as possible, and is delivered by highly skilled professionals.

One concerned parent, who asked not to be named, said the governors' decision to seek approval to lower the age range appeared to fly in the face of public opinion.

"They seem to be ignoring the fact that the public consultation figures show 89 per cent were against the college proposals," he said.

"I think it is extremely sad for West Somerset when the community said 'No' but the future of our children's education rests in the hands of individual college governors and a principal who appear not to be listening."