Plans to shut three small Bristol primary schools will be reviewed by councillors next week.

A panel of members will look at the cabinet decision of October 30 to shut St Pius X Catholic Primary in Withywood, St George’s C of E Primary on Brandon Hill and Stockwood Green Primary.

The meeting next Tuesday at 5.30pm has been called after opposition Tory councillors “called in” the Labour cabinet’s decision.

The call-in panel will look at the Conservatives’ concerns and can either: reject the call-in, refer it back to the cabinet with recommendations or to refer it to the full council for further debate.

Tory group leader Richard Eddy has challenged the three closures and also the principles underlying the council’s city-wide primary schools review, of which the closures are part.

The Conservatives are critical of the consultation process, the failure as they see it of the cabinet to take professional advice and the lack of information provided to explain the plans.

In his “call-in” papers, Mr Eddy said: “The consultation process has been flawed from the outset.

“The executive has failed to adequately take into account the views of professionals concerned over the detrimental effects of such ‘mega schools’on the future education of the city’s children.

“The rationale behind the arguments presented in favour of amalgamations, mergers and closures has not been explained.”

He claimed petitions and other responses to the review had been lost and he said not enough financial information had been given to enable councillors to judge whether the savings made would justify “the consequential loss in quality of education”.

Councillor Peter Hammond, the cabinet member in charge of schools, said the Tories had offered no practical alternative proposals for primary schooling in the city.

“They are playing party-political games on a very important issue for young people and their schools here in Bristol,” he said.

“Their opposition to our proposals is hysterical, hypocritical and downright wrong.”

The Liberal Democrats, the largest party on the city council, have called on the cabinet to make sure parents, carers and staff are kept fully informed of all develop- ments in the closure programme.

The panel from the council’s overview and management scrutiny commission comprises Lib Dem Barbara Janke, Tory Ashley Fox and Labour’s Ron Stone plus two nominated councillors.

The Bristol schools are scheduled to shut some time between 2010 and 2013, once improvements have been made to other primaries to which the pupils would move.

Each closure would be subject to its own consultation process before an individual cabinet decision. All the schools have vowed to fight to stay open.

Clare Gundry, head of St George’s, wrote to parents following the cabinet meeting to assure them that the school would not be closing in the near future.

“We realise this has been a very difficult time for everyone. Your encouragement and support has been invaluable. May we reassure you we will continue to campaign vigorously to keep St George open. In the meantime we will continue to provide your children with the best education possible while they remain at St George,” she said.