The conference, organised by the Local Government Association, was debating the future of an estimated 9,000 small English primary and secondary schools, many of which are in the countryside.

Jacqui Smith: Reluctant to close small rural schools

"With the strict new guidelines we introduced two years ago, we have reduced the rate of closure of rural schools to an eighth of what it was 10 years ago and got the number of closures down from 30 a year to a current average of four a year," she said.

"Between 1983 and the beginning of 1998 there were 450 closures of rural schools - some of them tearing the heart out of local communities and villages.

"This is not acceptable and that is why we have made it much harder to close down the schools."

While communities say schools make a vital contribution to village life, local authorities have been under financial pressure to close them because they are inefficient.

There are also questions about the breadth of lessons available to small schools and the quality of education where classes have to have mixed age groups.

Staff in small rural schools can also feel isolated, having less of the contact and shared experience that is available in larger schools.

'Lifeblood'

ast October, the government announced an extra �40m to support small rural schools, with schemes such as helping them to share facilities and head teachers.

"Rural schools are often the lifeblood of local communities," Ms Smith said.

"I know there are difficult decisions which local authorities have to take. But in the case of village schools, we were right to put the village before the planner."

She three examples of schools that had been kept open - Didbrook and Toddington Primary Schools, Gloucester, Grafton Primary School, Wiltshire, and Buerton County Primary School, Cheshire.

Of the eight small schools closed since February 1998, all had fewer than 30 pupils, and six had fewer than 20.

• Potter Heigham, Norfolk, was on special measures, had only four pupils, and was not considered viable
• Ilton, Somerset, attracted no objections, and remains open as part of an amalgamated school - there were 23 pupils
• Foxearth, Essex, had only 17 pupils, was on special measures and was judged by Ofsted to be making limited progress
• Heckingham First, Norfolk, had only 15 pupils, had been in special measures, and was not selected by the majority of parents in the village
• Ulpha, Cumbria, had only 11 pupils, with no increase anticipated and 50% of local parents already choosing to send their children elsewhere
• Adbaston, Staffordshire, had 11 pupils with 85% surplus places, and numbers were forecast to decline to only five
• Westwood, Durham, had 28 pupils with 75% surplus places, was in dilapidated premises, and had two suitable schools nearby
• Gisburn Forrest Tosside, Lancashire, had only 9 pupils. Many parents chose to send their children elsewhere and it was not considered viable.