THE chairman of governors of a school which is set to be closed by Worcestershire County Council next year after a damning Ofsted report says he is "sick as a parrot" about the decision.

And Tom Wareing said the closure of Dingleside Middle School on the Woodrow estate would lead to even greater social deprivation in the area.

The county council's cabinet decided the fate of the school when it met on Friday. The proposal comes following an Ofsted inspection last summer which placed Dingleside in Special Measures.

The report said Dingleside was failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons leading, managing and governing the school were not demonstrating the capacity to secure necessary improvement in the school.

It also claimed the school was not as good as it should be and had not improved enough since the last inspection, staff had not done enough to bring about the necessary improvement in pupils' basic literacy skills and that there were weaknesses in teaching.

But Mr Wareing said: "This report is what two Ofsted officers said after spending just two-and-a-half days at the school, the facts paint a very different picture. The SAT results spoke for themselves in English, maths and science.

"Having been involved in the governing body of this school since 1970, I know what a good school it is and what dedicated headteachers we have been privileged to have here.

"The closure of Dingleside will lead to more social deprivation in the area and this should be something of grave concern to the county council. I am sick as a parrot that this decision has been made."

Councillor Liz Eyre, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "We heard from officers that while the majority of respondents were against the idea of closing the school, there was no case made for a sustained recovery of Dingleside. We looked hard at all the options for recovery and nothing was forthcoming."

A public notice will be published advertising the council's intentions and inviting responses over a four-week period. The matter will then go back to cabinet for a final decision. If the closure goes ahead, the school will shut on August 31, 2008.