A NIGHT of nail-biting tension ended in cries of triumph for Prestwich Arts College campaigners.

They launched into chants of "Bury Council hear us say, school closures no way!", an oft-repeated slogan of their long campaign to save the school.

The public applauded each one of the five votes cast on Tuesday, as three groups voted against the proposal and two abstained (see panel).

But there was still drama to come. The SOC chairman, the Rev John Findon, said the vote meant the matter would now go to the schools adjudicator, which silenced the crowd. But seconds later, he corrected himself, and said a 3-0 score was enough to knock out the plan entirely, which sent the packed public gallery into raptures.

Ironically, the PAC campaigners may have to thank leaders of nearby Parrenthorn High, whose case was also being heard. The plan was for Parrenthorn to expand to 900 places to take in pupils displaced from Prestwich.

But Wilf Davison, chairman of governors at Parrenthorn, dropped a bombshell. He stated that £7.5 million the school had already been promised for investment was only enough to bring the school up to 21st century standards and NOT enough to expand the school to take in the Prestwich children.

The SOC's rejection of the PAC closure also means rejection of the Parrenthorn expansion, although it will still get the money.

The news was greeted with delight by Geoff Barlow, headteacher at PAC: "This is an opportunity for us to plan for the longer term, which we've not been able to do for the last seven months. This was a real community issue which united parents, and I appreciate the support of everybody."

Coun Davison said Parrenthorn had increased its intake to 161, making a total of 805 pupils. "We decided to go up to 805 to secure the future of the school," he said. "If we are asked to move to 900, there will need to be additional funds to the £7.5 million to do that."

Paul Cooke, the council's head of planning and management services, said: "£7.5 million is no small sum. How that money is used has to be determined by agreement by the council and governors."

But headteacher Mick Fitzgerald said the money was to refurbish its performing arts section and to provide new classrooms.

And Coun Davison added: "However we allocate the £7.5 million, it will be insufficient for us to provide a first-class education for 900 pupils. Maybe it could be done by sacrificing things we regard as desirable, like a school hall. But the figures don't stack up."

Earlier, Eleni Ioannides, executive director of children's services, said the decision had major implications for funding. Falling rolls led to less money for Bury schools by 2015, Bury would have lost £7 million, equivalent to 254 teachers, or seven per cent from every school's budget. Mr Cooke said Bury had a statutory duty to provide education for children in this borough, not for outside.

"The council needed to have a plan to make sure of getting Government money to rebuild local schools: local tax payers may have to find the cost otherwise.

"Several members wondered where prospective PAC students would go after 2010. Others said that, if Philips and Parrenthorn were full, there was no meaningful choice for Prestwich parents.