Under county council plans to swap from three-tier to two-tier to remove 900 surplus spaces, there would be no place for middle schools at Sandford, Wareham, Bovington and Swanage.

Sandford headmaster Rob Graham said: “The great strength of middle schools is that they combine the very best aspects of secondary schools, with the specialist provision and specialist teachers, with the best qualities of primary schools, which is pastoral care.”

He said there was no evidence that a two-tier system would work any better. Spare physical space could be made available for community use – and with thousands of new homes earmarked for Purbeck, any surplus pupil spaces would soon be needed, he argued.

Iain Clark, headteacher at Wareham, said he was concerned over the upheaval the changes would cause.

“My worry is that in a big secondary school they (children) will be lost and the time will not be given to them to support them and their academic and biological growth,” he said.

An online petition has been set up in support of the middle schools.

Dave Pratten, headteacher at Swanage Middle School, which would be the location for a new primary school, said the review was a “lost opportunity”.

“We should have been looking at not just reducing surplus places, but saying: ‘What do our children need?’ Not now, but for the next 10, 20 or 30 years,” he said.

Mr Pratten said the best results in Dorset came from schools in the three-tier system and the worst from those in the primary/secondary structure.

Dorset County Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, Toni Coombs, said the two-tier option was the best for reducing surplus places and would bring Purbeck in to line with the national curriculum.

“Our proposals have been designed to be flexible should there be a rise in the population and by removing the majority of surplus places pupils will receive more funding per head, which will ultimately enhance their education.”

  • Find the list of public meetings at bournemouthecho.co.uk by searching for “Purbeck Schools”.