Education bosses have ignored pleas to keep the middle school system in Ingleton and Settle and are going ahead with proposals to revert to a two-tier method of education in North Craven.

Tuesday’s decision by North Yorkshire County Council’s Executive to move away from the current three-tier structure, in place for more than 30 years, has dismayed parents, governors and teachers.

They say the decision will mean the closure of the two middle schools and lead to job losses, as well as ending an education system that is working well.

At Settle Middle School, 17 teachers and nine assistants face losing their jobs, as well as administration, kitchen and cleaning staff.

Headteacher Mark Stapley said: “We are very disappointed about the outcome of the executive meeting. The committee is made up of county councillors from other areas of North Yorkshire, not from the Craven area, and they have no experience of the middle school system in North Craven.

“The views of the majority of people who responded to the consultation and the support for the middle schools expressed in the public meetings have been ignored.

“We still maintain that the solution suggested by the local authority will not solve the problems faced by the small schools, but merely delay another review on further North Craven school closures in the future.”

Mary Parker, headteacher of Ingleton Middle, said the school’s closure would spell disaster for the village.

“The North Craven Review, from the onset, implied that we were looking forward to create an education system fit for the 21st Century. How can a retrograde step to a two-tier system fulfil this requirement?” she said. “Currently in North Craven the community is being hit from all directions and the closure of Ingleton Middle School (IMS) is just another nail in the coffin. “Reduced budgets for Ingleborough Community Centre, possible closure of the library, closure of IMS and therefore the impact on local businesses, plus the compulsory redundancies of all IMS staff, should not be taken without due thought and consideration.

“I request that the Executive members reconsider the IMS proposal, that they are not influenced by a minority at the expense of the young people in North Craven. I ask the Executive members to have the courage to support a system which is different and is surely the way forward in the 21st Century, a system which has been adopted and proven to be successful in many other countries throughout the world.”

The education authority held three public consultations when people could put their views, which were considered at Tuesday’s meeting.

These views included fears there would be a disruption to the education of children and the need for some students to travel further to school.

However, despite the representations, the Executive decided to follow its original proposal and will publish statutory notices on December 16 to allow a further six weeks for the public to lodge representations.

Education bosses say the new system would reduce the number of times children need to change schools and bring North Craven into line with most of the rest of North Yorkshire and the country. It is also designed to fit with current primary and secondary curriculum key stages.

Children would remain at primary school until the age of 11 and then transfer to a single school based on the current Settle Middle and Settle College sites, which would serve 11 to 18-year- olds. Education for over-16s would be provided by Settle College in partnership with other local educational providers.

The proposals aim to address long-standing concerns about falling pupil numbers, the financial viability of schools and ensure the breadth and quality of education on offer to children and young people for the future.

County Councillor John Watson, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Schools, said: “We recognise that these proposals have caused a great deal of comment and concern. But it is notable that there are a great number of parents who support this reorganisation, as do the majority of schools and governing bodies. We are confident that these proposals, if implemented, will provide the best basis for high- quality education for young people in the area.

“We recognise, of course, that there will need to be careful implementation of any final decision and we will be working with schools, parents and young people themselves on the details of transition.”

Representations can be made until January 27 and a final decision will be taken by the county council’s Executive on February 22.

If the decision is carried to abandon the three-tier system, the new arrangements will come into effect in September 2012.