UPPER Wharfedale communities are being invited to a series of meetings next week to talk about the importance of their primary schools.

Meetings will take place at Kettlewell on Monday, October 16; Cracoe on Tuesday, Burnsall on Wednesday, and at Grassington on Thursday, when parents and carers of primary school children - and any other interested people - will be able to talk to school leaders about what is being done to protect the valuable community assets.

The meetings come just after the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) made a passionate appeal to education authorities and to its five MPs, including Skipton MP Julian Smith, to protect all the remaining primary schools in the park.

All four primary schools in Upper Wharfedale - Burnsall, Cracoe, Grassington and Kettlewell, fall within the national park, and are part of the North Yorkshire education authority, which this year closed Horton-in-Ribblesdale Primary School and Rathmell Primary School, because of falling numbers.

In February, the four Upper Wharfedale primary schools created a federation in a bid to work together to fight the challenges facing rural schools.

Chairman of the governors of the Upper Wharfedale Primary Federation, Anne Vetch, said the decision to federate was a proactive and strategic move in response to the severe challenges facing all rural schools with increasing costs and fluctuating pupil numbers.

Since its official launch in February, the federation had got off to a good start, she said, but there was still much to do.

"We are proud that our federation has been ‘showcased’ to colleagues in other counties as an innovative and creative attempt to mitigate these challenges," she said.

"Federation, however, is only the first step and there are still many issues which need to be tackled. The reality is that the future of our schools and the education of our children are fundamental to the very fabric and nature of our communities and affect everyone - of all ages, with or without any connection to the schools. As governors, it is our job to explore all the options and implications regarding the sustainability of our four schools and the most effective way to educate our young people. We are also working closely with the national park, the local authority and other stakeholders."

Ms Vetch said she hoped as many people as possible would come along to one of next week's drop in sessions to find out more and talk to the governors.

"The governors would like to invite all parents and carers and members of our communities to see the bigger picture on our village schools – why they are so important to us all, what challenges lie ahead and some options for sustainability," she said.

Monday's meeting at Kettlewell Village Hall will take place from 3pm to 7pm; on Tuesday at Cracoe Village Hall, from 3pm to 7pm; on Wednesday, at Burnsall School, from 3pm to 7pm, and on Thursday, at Grassington School, from 3pm to 7pm.