KINGSWAY High School looks doomed after a full meeting of Cheshire County Council yesterday backed plans to close it in August 2006.

The fight to save the Newton, Chester school from the axe now looks lost as any decision against the wishes of the authority looks unlikely.

Councillors yesterday filed into County Hall for a full meeting of the authority where Cllr Molly Hale (Lib Dem, Hoole & Newton) urged the ruling Tory administration to defer a recommendation for closure.

Cllr Hale called on the ruling party to take no action to close Kingsway, saying several points still needed to be taken into consideration.

To safeguard the future of Kingsway's Newgate Centre (for special needs pupils), she said evidence of a named Chester high school where the centre's work could continue should be provided.

In a speech to the full council, Cllr Hale said: 'We will lose an extremely valuable school if Kingsway closes. Think long and hard before you make your minds up.

'The governors' business plan needs time to work.

'Some pupils are very apprehensive about changing schools, some fear they will be bullied.'

Cllr Peter Nurse (Lab, Crewe North) was concerned extra information was considered at a meeting of the authority's school planning panel, without it being considered by Kingsway governors, adding: 'I don't believe we have handled this well.'

Despite Cllr Hale's plea, the proposed motion to defer was defeated 25/24 after being put to the vote.

Councillors then took part in a vote to publish notices proposing the closure of Kingsway, which was won 25/19.

Their recommendation supporting closure will now be put to the county's education executive next Thursday.

However, campaigners must prepare themselves for another blow as Tory council leader Paul Findlow will be presiding over the meeting in place of David Rowlands who has stepped down due to his role as chairman of governors at Upton High.

Cllr Findlow is expected to rubber stamp the full council's recommendation ahead of a meeting of Cheshire's independent school organisation committee.

Yesterday, Kingsway campaigners were downbeat but said they were determined to fight on.

Action group chairman Angus Duncan and Kath Lloyd, chair of Kingsway's board of governors, don't believe their new Kingsway business plan, The Way Forward, has been taken into account.

Mr Duncan said: 'This decision is not totally unexpected, it was made on political grounds not educational ones. We intend to fight on.'

Mrs Lloyd added: 'It was said at the meeting that morale among staff and Kingsway pupils is at an all time low. I can assure you it is not.'