We have been contacted recently by a group fighting to save their school in another part of the country. As a result, we have decided to prepare a short list of points that could be useful to others. Please note that some of these points only apply to Secondary Schools.

1) You must have your local community behind you. You must believe that you are right, and that the proposals will damage your community!

2) You must start as soon as possible, and be prepared for a long campaign.

3) You need a small team of people are able/prepared to give up plenty of their own time to steer your campaign. One member should be a parent governor of the school, so that you can liase closely with the school itself. It is probably best to officially remain slightly divorced from the school itself, so that there can be no accusations of the school running your campaign (see our disclaimers on each page of the site: A campaign website that airs the opinions of the community, run by the community for the community and This site is not run by anybody with formal links to Haywood. The school has no control over the content of this site).

4) You need to get to know your ward Councillors, and make sure that they share your aims for your school and that they are prepared to fight your corner in Council meetings.

5) Someone needs to read as many Council documents as possible - all relevant meetings, budgets, etc. There are often gems that will help your campaign buried deep inside in these documents.

6) Sound out your local MP.

7) Read BSF/Government policy documents carefully. Your local Council policy may contradict Government policy.

8) If you are "lucky" enough to have an outside company running your education department, do your research into their suitability carefully. Highlight their other interests.

9) IMPORTANT: Don't get personal. Attack people's office, not them personally.

10) Make friends with your local press - keep them informed.

11) Start a community website, make up a catchy acronym - forget about "Save our ..." and other clichés. The school can run their own separate campaign on their own website.

12) Plan to picket every Council meeting starting immediately. This can be arranged as part of your school's Citizenship classes - children draw reporters! Make it clear that the demos are part of your pupils' education, "local democracy in action", and not just an opportunity for the children to bob off.

13) If you need, and are denied, information from the Council, use the Freedom of Information Act.

14) Bombard your Council head with emails pointing out contradictions in policy, etc. He/she will soon come to dread your communications!

15) Link with other schools - don't try to do it by yourselves.

16) Keep your head teacher informed of everything that you are doing. He/she will be also able to keep you in the loop. Information is a two way street.

17) Set up an email group - everyone will have ideas as to how to proceed. Everyone has different skills.

18) If you are convinced that you have a decent case against closure, consult lawyers. It is best to be prepared in case you decide that you have to go to court.

19) When the announcement that your school would close was made, had there been a proper consultation? If not, you must demand your due process. Don't take no for an answer. If the consultation took place, was it open and transparent? Did it last for the statutory minimum six weeks?

20) Get your feeder Primary Schools involved - it's their pupils who will be most affected.

21) Draw up alternative, constructive proposals. Be clear in what you want. Be prepared to negotiate and compromise. Some schools may come unstuck because they are totally intransigent.

22) Compare the proposed fate of your school with that of other similar-sized schools in your LEA. Is there any difference? If so, why?

23) The Government is big on choice – is there a conflict between central Government’s policy and your Council’s aims?

24) Find out if teachers' jobs are secure - how can you children be properly taught if the school is haemorrhaging teachers?

25) Don’t believe any statistics with which you are presented. Statistics can be made to back up any position – do your own statistical research, and tell your own story.

26) Most important of all, have fun and DON'T GIVE UP!

Eventually the wall will crumble!