THE future of a nursery class at Malvern Hills Primary School is still up in the air, despite an official notice saying it is closing.

Worcestershire County Council placed an official notice in the Malvern Gazette but had to withdraw it this week because several councillors are unhappy with the decision.

Its cabinet agreed on April 26 to stop funding the class as only three children were expected in September when 26 places were available.

But the council's own overview and scrutiny committee has now requested that the matter be "called in" for further deliberation. The public notice has therefore been withdrawn as the case is looked at once again.

The decision to close the nursery was taken after a public consultation.

Parents, governors and community representatives all urged the council not to shut it, saying they had been working hard to promote the facility, and had a number of families in theprocess of enrolling their children.

The school itself was threatened with closure by the council two years ago and was only saved by an independent schools' adjudicator.

Governor Heather Williamson said: "We are delighted this has been called in. They didn't give the school enough time to rebuild public confidence after the last threat and I think some county councillors are unhappy about this."

Despite second thoughts by some members, other councillors are still convinced closure is the way forward.

Coun Liz Eyre, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Nursery provision is important, but I am very worried about the lack of peer group interaction for those children currently at the school. We feel we have given enough time for the local community's confidence to return and it has failed to do so."

The overview and scrutiny committee meet on Tuesday at County Hall.