PARENTS fighting to save a village school from closure accused education chiefs of wanting to close the it to fill a hole in the council's budget.

In a three-hour consultation meeting last night campaigners rounded on Torfaen's director of education Mike de Val over his proposals to close Ponthir school due to a surplus of places.

Parent and solicitor Lynn Grant said she had obtained council documents from 2003 valuing the Ponthir School site at £1.8 million.

She said: "It's no secret Torfaen council needs money. You look at this little school and you see cash signs. We think you look at us as a cash cow."

Mr de Val refuted the claims and said the closure was being proposed solely on educational grounds.

He said Ponthir fulfilled seven criteria, including having a high number of surplus places.

He said: "There is a significant issue in the percentage of surplus places in this school. We are not making any case whatsoever that the education in this school is no good."

Newport Gwent Dragons star Percy Montgomery was among the dozens of parents at the meeting.

The South African rugby ace has backed the campaign to keep the school open. Percy's eight-year-old son Nicholas is a pupil at the school. Campaigners pointed out that Ponthir has the best SATs results in Torfaen last year and an excellent Estyn inspection report.

One by one they refuted each of the criteria and accused Mr de Val's arguments of being flawed.

Monmouth MP Huw Edwards called for the council to reconsider their proposals, and said: "The weakness of some of your arguments is being exposed in the media. As educationalists can you be party to closing your best performing primary school?"

He was backed up by Assembly Member David Davies and ward councillor Margaret Pead, as well as representatives from Ponthir community council.

Clerk to the community council Chris Thomas said: "The future of our school is closely linked to the future of our village. "A village without a school is a village without a heart."

Mr de Val said: "As I drove through the village and saw all the road signs supporting the school I was left under no illusion whatsoever how important this issue is to the village."

He promised to take all the views back with him to cabinet.