FURY has erupted over plans to cut down the size of Radcliffe's new state-of-the-art high school.

Education chiefs want to slash the Riverside's roll from 900 to 600 pupils - and move Radcliffe Hall primary school into the building to make up the numbers.

Labour councillors have condemned the move as an attack on the town's children, and have called an emergency meeting for next week.

They accuse the Tories of reneging on promises for the Riverside, which was a key element of Radcliffe's regeneration. A SureStart children's centre was due to be built at Radcliffe Hall, but was withdrawn from last week's planning committee.

Council leaders, however, say they are doing the responsible thing. Forecasts show that there are falling school rolls generally, and the latest figures reveal that many Radcliffe parents are choosing to send their children elsewhere in the borough.

Work on the £20 million school, created following the merger of Coney Green and Radcliffe High, is due to start next month on the former ELPM site and be completed in December 2008.

Colin Jones, chairman of governors at Radcliffe Riverside, said: "This has been very poorly handled and there has been no consultation. So far we have received no direct communication from anybody about the plans. The headteacher was summoned in the last week of term and made aware of them, but obviously that left very little time for the governors to get together and discuss it.

"This seems very ill-thought out and the plans change the whole character and concept of the school.

"We would welcome a primary school on the site, but not as part of the main school building and not with a reduction in numbers from 900 to 600."

Mr Jones added: "We believe that once work starts, it will act as a magnet and bring more people to the school. But we will constantly fight to attract pupils with the reduced numbers, because we can't provide as good a school. Not only will the school suffer, but the education of the pupils in Radcliffe will suffer as well."

Diana Morton, Radcliffe Riverside's executive headteacher, was unavailable for comment. Alicia Todhunter, headteacher at Radcliffe Hall, declined to comment.

Local councillor Wayne Campbell asked why, when Broad Oak and Prestwich high schools were proposed for closure, the council was told that a 600-place school was too small.

Councillor Yvonne Creswell, deputy leader of the council, said: "Projections show that, by the time it opens, there will only be about 600 secondary age pupils attending the school.

"As a responsible authority it makes sense to explore options to fill the 300 excess places, and this is the start of the consultation process to do just that. One option would be to accommodate a new primary school building on the site."

She added: "There is no secret plot'. We have discussed the issue with relevant headteachers, and the matter has been raised with Radcliffe Riverside's governing body. We can't just bury our heads in the sand and build a school that will be one third empty.

"I am happy to have a special meeting to discuss the issue, but it is a shame the Labour group have forced it to take place now, in the knowledge that many councillors are on holiday, and therefore not able to take part in the democratic process."

l An extraordinary council meeting will take place on Wednesday at Bury Town Hall, starting at 7pm.

Labour has put down a motion demanding the council: 1) Reaffirm its commitment to building a six-form (900-place) high school called Riverside, and to begin work immediately 2) Commission an independent investigation into delays associated with the letting of the contract and the construction of the high school.