More than 100 teachers, parents and pupils took their campaign against a planned shake-up of Bristol's primary schools to the city council's doorstep.

A high-profile march on College Green was followed by impassioned calls for a rethink on the scheme at a meeting of the city council last night.

In May, plans were released for the future of 110 schools in the city which provide for children aged four to 11. The proposals included the closure of three schools and the loss of many more through amalgamations and federations, reducing the total number to 88.

Parents and staff say they are worried the moves will result in bigger schools, with less attention paid to pupils' needs. They also fear children will have further to travel to school.

Tanya Bracey, mother of five-year-old Hannah, who is a pupil at closure-threatened Stockwood Green Primary School, said: “I chose the school for Hannah because I thought a small school would be best for her – she has settled in very well. The other options around Stockwood are either over-subscribed or too small to deal with everyone else.

“We have a petition of 2,500 signatures against these proposals and we're determined to fight against this.”

Gwinear Lloyd from St Andrews, said her children Rosie, 10, Elen, eight, and Neve, five, would suffer if the plans went ahead to merge their schools, Sefton Park infants and juniors, into an expanded primary school.

She said: “They want to double the sizes of the classes and they keep saying larger schools are better than smaller ones but that goes against all the research we've seen.”

A number of councillors and protesters made statements to the full council, stressing the strength of opinion against the changes. The public gallery was full of teachers, union members, parents and children. Terry Cook, a member of the city council's ruling Labour cabinet, told the Evening Post no decision had been taken and schools had the chance to offer the council a viable alternative.

He said: “We want to make absolutely sure that this is a consultation and not a foregone conclusion.

“If the schools can put together a good package that meets our requirements for the whole of Bristol then we are happy to hear about it.

“But there are too many school places in Bristol and we have to reduce that number.

“If we can do that and meet the expectations of these schools, then that's fantastic, otherwise hard decisions are going to have to be made.”

THE city council last night unanimously voted to support a motion to raise the profile of entitlements for war veterans.

Iraq veteran Jamie Cooper, of Kingswood, was expecting to have to pay a full council tax bill after he left the Army after being denied a disability discount. He was then told he would not have to pay any council tax after he leaves the forces and becomes eligible for a war pension. Opposition councillors called for the discounts and exemptions process to be reviewed so that those eligible were made aware of the correct procedures.