TEACHERS at a Darfield School are faced with redundancy after up to 50 pupils have left in six months.

A meeting attended by Peter Bevis, the National Union of Teachers representative for the Barnsley area, was called to discuss concerns over potential staff redundancies at Darfield All Saints' Primary.

Mr Bevis said: "The budget for staff is set by the number of pupils at the school. These redundancies are probably an effect of pupil losses at the school."

Mrs Julie Jones, headteacher, confirmed that due to falling rolls the governors have had to manage the impact on the school budget. She said: "This may necessitate a reduction in the number of staff employed and a reorganisation of the class structure."

An Ofsted report last year described the overall efficiency of the school as inadequate and said that standards in English, science and maths were exceptionally low when the children left.

Although encouraging steps have been made to improve the school, parents are worried that staff cuts and class merges could lead to the potential closure of the school.

Rev Neil Redeyoff, chair of governors, strongly denied rumours of the school closing, saying it was 'total rubbish'. He said: "There have been challenges but we held a meeting six weeks ago with parents to discuss any problems and they were pleased with the direction we were taking. "There has been some movement because of a re-housing project currently taking place in the area but the number of children leaving is a complete exaggeration."