BROMYARD is potentially the biggest victim of Herefordshire Council's education review, with three of the town's schools facing closure.

These include the Queen Elizabeth Humanities College, with secondary students facing daily bus journeys to a new 1000+ capacity school on the site of Leominster's Minster College, more than 10 miles away.

Amalgamations between Bredenbury and Pencombe CE, and Brockhampton and Whitbourne CE would also take place, while capacity at Burley Gate CE would be reduced to 105.

Queen Elizabeth headteacher Adrian Long believes passing the proposals would have a severe effect on education in Bromyard.

"One cannot help that they are potentially ill-judged, in terms off the devastating effect they will have on Bromyard and the surrounding villages," he said. "There are seven schools in total in the catchment area, and six of those are affected by these changes. I suspect that no other area is being hit as hard."

He also feels that passing the proposals would instantly relegate Bromyard to third class status'.

"This has the potential to tip Bromyard into irreversible decline, affecting local shops, house prices, and even taking away the reason why a family may chose to move here," he said. "It is one thing to make a voluntary choice to a school elsewhere, but another to be told that this is the only option you have.

"We are not saying we don't want change. We recognise that it is a necessity, and we wish to work with the local authority to deliver cost-effective, high-performance education." Bernard Hunt, a member of both Herefordshire and Bromyard Town councils, said Bromyard would not simply accept the proposals, and would fight tooth and nail to retain their high school.

"I have never been embarrassed to belong to a council, but I am embarrassed today to belong to Herefordshire Council," he said. "How we as councillors can be expected to justify these proposals to our electorate is beyond me.

"The suggestion that the Queen Elizabeth Humanities College, a top performing school nowadays, is closed and pupils bussed to Leominster is a hugely unpopular and unnecessary move that would empty North-east Herefordshire, leaving an educational desert devoid of secondary education."