Tyneside middle schools to close

The recommendation to close the middle schools has been accepted

Three middle schools in Newcastle which had been facing the axe have had no last-minute reprieve.

A meeting of the city council's cabinet on Wednesday has voted in favour of reorganising education in the outer west of the city.

It means the closure of Chapel House, Chapel Park and Throckley Middle Schools - as the area goes from a three-tier to a two-tier system.

Some parents protested against the move outside the Civic Centre on Wednesday, and have vowed to fight on.

Parents had collected 500 names on a petition calling for the plans to be abandoned.

In April, the city council had referred to a review by the school inspectors Ofsted that concluded "pupils in middle schools make slightly slower progress than pupils in secondary schools".