When two into one doesn't go

primary school.

But as soon as it was proposed, parents and teachers reacted with horror at the prospect of meddling with two schools which were giving an excellent academic grounding.

The parents, backed by staff and the local community, formed a pressure group that played by the rules and won the day against what they claimed was a dictatorial attitude by certain councillors and officers.

Yesterday's decision by Government adjudicator Ann Holt not to merge the schools dealt a blow to Freida Warman-Brown, chairwoman of Brighton and Hove City Council's education committee, her successor Pat Hawkes and David Hawker, the city's director of education.

The council wanted the merger to succeed to save money and ease the transfer of pupils between the infants and juniors.

There are 128 pupils in each year of the infants school but only 105 are able to go through to the juniors.

A new school would have solved the shortfall and ended the time consuming appeal process.

The council is convinced all-through primary schools are the answer, having created them elsewhere in Brighton at Moulsecoomb and Whitehawk.

Councillor Hawkes, who has spent a lifetime in education and is a former president of the National Union of Teachers, says despite the decision of the adjudicator, the council will press ahead with such schools.

She said: "We have worked scrupulously to get this process right and are deeply disappointed with this decision.

"It will not prevent us from continuing with our policy as we believe all-through primary schools have great educational benefits.

"We will continue to consult on the possibility of creating new primary schools when the head of a linked infant and junior school resigns."

The move to merge the schools began when Balfour Junior headteacher Mary Stenton announced her resignation at the end of the Easter term last year.

Anna Kett, chairman of the governors at the time, said: "We set up a recruitment panel and met at least once. Then the bombshell dropped. We were told we were being considered for merger."

The council's plan was to close the junior school and create Balfour Primary. Head of Balfour Infants Angela Burgess would be headteacher of the merged school.

The council says there was full consultation with parents. It received 37 letters in favour of the proposals and 140 against.

Tempers began to fray at a meeting with parents in April last year when no vote was taken on the proposal, despite almost unanimous opposition.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Hawker said the council was still pressing ahead with the merger.

Alec Potter, 39, who at the time had a child in both the infant and junior schools, said he felt the council was ignoring parents' wishes.

The housing association manager said: "I could not believe what I was hearing.

"The council had obviously made up its mind to go ahead and was ignoring the views of parents, staff and both governing bodies."

Balfour Action Group Against Merger (Bagam), was formed, with Mr Potter as its chairman.

Fund-raising activities were organised, leaflets distributed and support sought from the community.

Bagam maintained the merger would lead to at least five years of disruption.

Members argued the new school, with 650 places, would be one of the biggest primary schools in Britain and too large to give children individual attention.

In November last year, the decision was referred a Government adjudicator who was independent of the area.

The panel, which sat in Darlington and was headed by Mrs Holt, came down on the side of the parents.

Parents collecting their children from the two schools yesterday afternoon were delighted to hear the merger had been rejected.

Sally Kennedy, who has a child at the infant school, said: "I'm thrilled. I'm not against the primary school system per se but this primary would have been too big.

"Children can only be cherished, nurtured and seen as special for a short time in their life and this is the time."

Nicky Yates said: "The merger would have disrupted the children and would not have improved on the two good schools we have already got."

Parent Kate Heath said: "I am delighted good sense has prevailed but I think it is now the council's obligation to sort out the transfer issue in a less extreme manner.

"Otherwise it will continue to mean 30 children each year will not be able to transfer with their friends."

However, not all parents were pleased.

Amanda Hemming, who has one child at each school, said: "I'm disappointed because it is a missed opportunity to sort out the transfer problem and for the two schools to work closely together."

Another mother, Jill Arnold, said: "I'm very disappointed, I had expected it to go through.

"The thing I am most sorry about is that the problem of transfer will continue. I thought that issue would swing it."