EDUCATION Minister David Miliband is urging LEAs across the country to consider shutting schools with a surplus of spaces. His department has highlighted five secondary schools and 26 primary and middle schools in Worcestershire which could face the axe.

There are 29 secondary schools in Worcestershire that are either directly or indirectly maintained by the Local Education Authority.

There are 105 primary and middle schools in the same position. That means, one in six of our secondary schools and one in four primary schools could be closed.

According to Government statistics, these schools - and others across the country - are running with far too few pupils. There are, says the Government, 4,616 unfilled primary school places and 2,589 secondary school places.

Mr Miliband is not insisting that these, as yet unnamed, schools close. But he is urging LEAs to confront the problem "effectively and sensitively".

We are sure Worcestershire LEA is already doing this.

There may well be sound financial arguments for closing or amalgamating schools. Money saved could then be used to provide a better standard of education.

However, schools - especially rural schools - play a symbolic role in a community.

A school is a marker of continuity, something that holds together the fabric of the community and that signals its well-being.

Take away the school and you take away the community's heart. This issue needs to be addressed not just on a financial basis, but with the wider social issues in mind.