HATS, scarves and gloves were the uniform worn by an army of protesters marching on Bury town hall.

Wrapped up warmly against the March cold snap, around 300 pupils, parents and teachers from two doomed schools gathered in Bury on Saturday.

At first it seemed like the heavy snowfall the night before had kept some away, but suddenly, a swarm of determined supporters were ready to move off from Castle Leisure Centre in Bolton Street.

The atmosphere was joyful and triumphant as youngsters chattered excitedly about the protest march and parents joined their children in the fight to save their school from closure.

Just a few days before, councillors had agreed a recommendation that was "minded to approve" the closure of Prestwich Arts College and Broad Oak, pending further consultation with neighbouring MPs.

Despite the outlook seeming bleak, the general feeling of those present on Saturday was that the fight was far from over.

Mrs Leigh Jarvis, of Venwood Road, Prestwich, was there with her daughter Olivia (10), a Park View pupil, and son Lewis (13), who attends Prestwich Arts College.

"I'm here today because there is no longer a choice for my daughter. The only option is to go to Parrenthorn and I don't want that especially because of the size and it is a long way from where we live. I am really passionate about this. Prestwich has been fantastic since Lewis started there and the teachers are fantastic. It is a family tradition for us to go to that school and that will be broken."

Liz Cullen, of Henry Street, Prestwich, was in a similar situation with a daughter, Rhea, at Prestwich Arts College and another, Niamh, at Park View.

She said: "It's about a choice for everybody. I work at a school in Salford and everybody there wants to go to Prestwich. The only other choice for people living in Salford or Kersal is The Albion, and they prefer Prestwich. These proposals are stopping the rights of children getting an education at the school which best fits them. I think the whole thing is a stitch-up and the land is already sold."

Paul Clarke, chairman of governors at Park View Primary, said: "This will have a knock-on effect on all primaries. I am very concerned about the education of children in Prestwich and I believe we need to keep both schools open. I am also concerned about the effect on the whole community."

To loud chants of "save our school", backed up with a marching band of drums and whistles, the defiant crowd made their way along Bolton Street, up to Market Street and along Haymarket towards the town hall in Knowsley Street.

Bemused shoppers stopped to watch the colourful crowd as traffic was brought to a standstill by police officers.

Onlookers Anthony Davis and Lisa Jones, who live near Broad Oak, watched with interest.

Commenting on the protest march, Lisa said: "Fair enough. They are doing it well and not making a nuisance of themselves. Although our son is only three he needs to go to school but it's looking like there will be none left."

Marching alongside Broad Oak and Prestwich parents was Andy Loynes who has a child at The Derby and one at St Luke's Primary. He said: "I am not in agreement with The Derby benefiting from the closure of another school and actively campaigning for the closure of another school."

Once at their destination, the crowd assembled on the slope leading down to the car park off Knowsley Street and various speakers addressed them using a megaphone.

First up was Save Our Schools campaigner, Mikhil Karnik, who said: "This is a fantastic turnout, a fantastic show of people who think these schools should not close. You should all feel very proud of yourselves and we can actually stop this from happening. The council have backed down twice and we will make sure they back down a third time."

Headteacher of Prestwich, Mr Geoff Barlow, said: "I don't care where people come from, if they want to come to a Bury school they have a right. To challenge that right is undemocratic. Bury Council should think very carefully about this as once you remove schools you can't put them back."

Neil O'Connor, headteacher of Broad Oak, praised those present and said: "Very simply, the children of this town matter, the children of this ward matter and the children of Prestwich matter. The way in which you have conducted yourselves, irrespective of what one councillor believes, is extremely professional and well thought out."

Roy Wilkes, head of maths at Prestwich, raised the loudest cheer with his comments: "The last time, on January 31, you turned out in huge numbers and changed policy. Can you remember them sitting on the stage like wise old men, who knew what's best for Bury? Well, they have the wisdom of a goat, of a goat tethered to a stake in a field, on a rope, who is going round in circles. "The people of Prestwich and Broad Oak have risen up like lions and we have a message for the councillors for behaving like goats. You have a choice. If you persist in this policy we will devour you!"

Mr Barlow closed the statements with: "One of the things that came out of the consultation was an issue about social cohesion. I urge the councillors to look out of their windows, look at what's happening today. This is social cohesion."

And as if to reiterate his comments, the crowd gave a resounding chant of "Bury Council hear us say, school closures no way!"

Bury Council's executive committee will next meet on March 22, when members will decide whether to ratify their recommendation made on February 28.