Parents of children attending an island primary school threatened with closure have accused a local authority of acting "with indecent haste" and have urged it to reverse the decision.
They claim North Ayrshire Council's proposal to shut Corrie Primary School on Arran is being rushed through before the Scottish Government tightens legislation on the closure of rural schools.
They also insist the council has used "out-of-date and flawed information" to reach its decision, claiming it will also have to refer the matter to the Scottish Government as the next nearest primary school is over five miles away.
The proposal comes amid warnings of hundreds of small village schools potentially facing closure.
The National Association for Small Schools (NASS) say between 100 and 300 schools across the UK could shut their doors, warning of an "infectious official line spreading across the UK", with pressure on councils not only to reduce the number of spare places but also not to have too many schools.
If, as expected, North Ayrshire goes ahead with the proposal, Corrie Primary and the adjacent nursery, the only purpose-built one on the island in the Clyde, will shut down in June.
Under the scheme, Corrie schoolchildren would be sent to Brodick Primary School, which is more than five miles away.
Islanders have had nine weeks to make their views known about Corrie's proposed closure in a consultation period which ends on March 17.
The council claims the proposals come against a background of falling school rolls - 14.8% in primary schools since 1996 - and changes in population.
In addition to the Arran schools, it wants to amalgamate John For r with Castlepark and Woodlands in Irvine, Towerlands with Broomlands and Fencedyke, also in Irvine, and Dreghorn with Springside in a new school.
One mother, Donna Gold, who has two children at the school and one in the nursery due to start school in August, said: "Corrie Primary has been at the heart of the Corrie and Sannox community for over 120 years, and received an excellent report from HM Inspectorate two years ago praising its attainment.
"It is one of the best schools in Scotland." Another parent said: "We think North Ayrshire Council is trying to close Corrie on purely cost-cutting grounds before it is prevented from doing so by legislation."
The school currently has 15 pupils and two classrooms and the council predicts that the number of pupils will be as low as five by 2012.
The campaigners, however, have accused the authority of ignoring plans to build some 27 houses in the catchment area over the next few years, including family homes.
No-one from North Ayrshire Council was available for comment last night.
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