PLANS to replace seven high schools with five academies are expected to be given final approval next week.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's £250 million Building Schools for the Future programme will go before the ruling cabinet a week today. It follows the publication of school closure notices in May.

Schools due to shut are Blurton High, St Peter's High in Penkhull, Brownhills Maths and Computing College in Tunstall, Mitchell Business and Enterprise College in Bucknall, Berry Hill High, James Brindley Science College in Chell and Edensor Technology College in Longton. One special school, Heathfield School in Chell Heath, also faces closure as part of a merger with nearby Middlehurst School.

Last weekend, families from Mitchell and Berry Hill staged a protest calling for a rethink. A family from Heathfield is also preparing a legal challenge to save the school.

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Sentinel

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