DESPITE pressure, the Government has categorically said it will not reconsider its decision to scrap half of Bridgwater's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) plans.

Although Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger and Somerset County Council challenged the decision to scrap plans to rebuild East Bridgwater, Haygrove and Penrose, the Department for Education will not budge.

Plans for Robert Blake, Elmwood and Chilton Trinity were further down the road and will be considered by the Government.

Mr Liddell-Grainger was "quietly confident" that all six schools might be saved after meeting Education Secretary Michael Gove. The MP said Mr Gove "told me he would get somebody to look at all six Bridgwater schools".

The Department for Education called the meeting "constructive", but added it would not alter the list of 735 school projects which had not reached financial close, which includes East Bridgwater, Penrose and Haygrove.

The department did say the 'sample schools' Robert Blake, Elmwood and Chilton Trinity would be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

A department spokesman said: "We will be looking at all sample schools and academies more closely and hope to make our decisions shortly."

However Mr Liddell-Grainger still insists there is hope for the three scrapped schools.

More than the future of school buildings is at stake as Sedgemoor District Council said the only way it can afford a new pool for the town is by building it as part of the rebuild of Chilton Trinity.

Mr Liddell-Grainger attacked the Department for Education for giving Mr Gove poor and misleading information on the BSF project.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said he would write to Mr Gove to clear the matter up.