A public meeting was held in the school last week when the strengths of the school as a vital part of the community were outlined.

Parent Council member Bruce Pattullo stated the school was a centre of excellence which was praised by the School Inspectors, parents and children.

"Rather than being closed Eassie should be used as an example of how a primary school should be run."

Eassie and Newtyle Community Council unanimously agreed to support the school campaigners, with chairman Michael Ryan questioning the accuracy of the report submitted by the director of education.

He said: "We find it disturbing that the report submitted by the director of education does not seem to accurately describe the school which the community knows.

"When making decisions councillors rely heavily on having accurate information from the professional officers. In this case it looks like some serious questions need to be asked about aspects of this report."

Local campaigner Gavin Durston is using the remaining time left of the formal consultation to gather together facts and figures which he hopes to present to councillors.

He said: "I can't see how Angus Council could possibly think about closing the school. There are good, decent councillors out there and when they get the information in front of them then we will see what happens."

Mr Durston, who addressed last month's meeting of Angus Council's education committee and a full meeting of Angus Council, stated concerns were now being raised about the ability for the neighbouring schools to cope if Eassie is closed and new houses are built in the area.

Astounded

However, he was astounded when Peter Nield, Angus Council's education convener, told last week's public meeting that the closure was "nothing to do with education."

Mr Durston explained: "I can't get my head round that. Time and time again it has been explained that this has nothing to do with education!"

As the May 28 deadline for the formal consultation approaches, Mr Durston stated the campaign had received huge support from the local and wider community.

"We have certainly not had anything negative from anywhere about saving Eassie.

"The Council faces losing between £200,000 and £500,000 in central funding if the school is closed.

"We are told this has nothing to do with education. Rural populations and the birth population are going up, Eassie is a good school which plays an important part in the community - it ticks all the boxes for staying open."

Morale strengthened

The morale of the Eassie campaigners has not only been strengthened by support from local groups, but also from the success of a similar battle to save a Highland primary school.

Campaigners at Roy Bridge, near Fort William, won a 17-month struggle to overturn the decision to close their school and the Eassie community and a national rural schools campaigner have drawn comparisons between the two cases.

They now hope Angus Council will take note.

Sandy Longmuir, chairman of the Scottish Rural Schools Network, said Highland councillors agreed unanimously to retain Roy Bridge and reverse an earlier decision to shut it and merge it with a school at nearby Spean Bridge.

Officials there are to now investigate how "flawed" financial information was put before councillors for their earlier closure decision.

Mr Longmuir said: "It just goes to show that, with a community spirit and a lot of perseverance, even a closure vote can be overcome.

"Roy Bridge did not stop fighting, even though there was a closure vote taken in December, 2006.

"If Angus councillors vote to close Eassie, we will come back month after month to them. A closure vote will not stop us, we will not go away."

Gavin Durston said: "This is a cause for optimism, but there is still a long road ahead for us.

"There are a lot of good, decent councillors out there and once they hear both sides of the story I am confident they will make the right decision for Eassie.

"We know Eassie Primary must remain open and we need to ensure the councillors get the full facts on its retention."

The fate of Eassie Primary was the main talking point at a weekend fund-raiser in the school involving organisations including Eassie, Nevay and Kirkinch Community Association.

Among the hundreds who attended were North Tayside MSP Mr John Swinney.

He said: "It was a great day at Eassie School on Saturday with the school demonstrating quite clearly its strong and positive role at the heart of the community in the area.

"I was impressed by the large number of people who were there and the tremendous commitment that had been given to make the event a success."