PARENTS from a closure-hit Catholic primary who want the school to be given to the community to run are to take their case to the First Minister.

Campaigners from St Joseph's Primary School in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, will meet Nicola Sturgeon next week to step up their call for the school to be taken out of council control.

Although state-funded schools run by independent trusts are common in England, there is no provision in Scotland for something similar, although a handful of grant-maintained schools do exist, including Jordanhill, in Glasgow's west end, which is one of the top performing schools in Scotland.

The move follows a public meeting on the issue earlier this week which was attended by some 130 parents.

Paula Speirs, whose son is a pupil at the school, said: "The response to our campaign to make St Joseph's a community-led school has been fantastic. We have received messages of support from parent groups, community organisations and teachers across Scotland.

"What we are asking is the right for parents and communities to take decisions about the future of schools, not councillors. This is because nobody cares more about our children's education than we do.

"By drawing on the talents of everyone who lives in Milngavie and involving them in the life of the school we can offer more to our children and improve attainment."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said local authorities were responsible for the provision of education and that it was the role of ministers to support them in the provision of "appropriate" schooling to meet the needs of the communities they serve.

She added: "The current governance arrangements have served, and continue to serve, Scotland's schools well and there are no plans to change these or extend the current number of grant-aided schools funded by the Scottish Government. Any decision on individual land and assets is a matter for individual local authorities."

The move comes after ministers consented to the controversial plans by East Dunbartonshire to close St Joseph's earlier this year.

The Scottish Government had called in the decision giving hope to parents, but they eventually ruled that the local authority had followed the correct procedures in deciding to merge the school with St Andrew's Primary, in Bearsden.

St Joseph's is the only Catholic primary in Milngavie and the Catholic Church has previously described the plan as a "serious deterioration" in denominational provision.