FAMILIES are still applying for their children to join a Durham school, now and in the future, even though it is threatened with closure.
The Durham Free School has received several applications this week from parents who want to transfer their children from other schools in and close to the city.
As parents and pupils already at the school fight to keep it open, other families are pushing ahead with applications to secure a place for their children in Year 7 this September.
One mother said her 11-year-old daughter was refusing even to talk about going to an alternative school.
Lisa Hunter, of Gilesgate, said: "Caitlyn fell in love with the Free School when we came for the open evening and now she doesn't want to go anywhere else. I took her to other schools but she didn't like them.
"She said the Free School would be perfect for her because it's a small school. She's quite shy and she'd find a bigger school too daunting.
"I've spoken to her about the options but at the moment she's not willing to talk about it."
Ms Hunter said she had received a letter from the local education authority asking her to choose a different school in the event of the Free School closing.
"They said it wasn't an option any more but I haven't filled the form in. It's not closed yet and I want her to come here. It's a lovely school. The staff and the parents' group are really nice.
"I don't believe things here are as bad as they've been made out, it's been exaggerated. I've never heard of any cases of bullying. My daughter was bullied in the past but she's happy at St Hild's Primary and I want that to carry on by her coming here."
The school has also been contacted by five families who want to move their children to the Free School from elsewhere, despite the uncertainty over its future.
Youth worker Sean McCormack said he initially considered the Free School for his daughter Shauna, 12, but was put off when the Department for Education failed to find it a permanent base, so he sent her to another school in Durham.
"She's had a lot of problems there and hasn't settled at all. She's not easy and she knows she needs to change, but in my view the school she's at has failed her.
"I've heard nothing but good things about the Free School. Every parent and pupil I've spoken to is positive about it."
Mr McCormack, of Sherburn Road Estate, said he had been told by the LEA to cancel his transfer request because the school "will be closing".
"I think the school's been tripped up politically. If it manages to stay open it's a fantastic opportunity especially for young people who aren't necessarily suited to mainstream, one size fits all education.
"From what I hear staff at the Free School want to work with young people and are prepared to alter their thinking and their teaching to suit the individual needs of the children. Teachers need to inspire and motivate and give young people a reason to want to learn and that's what people say they do at the Free School," he added.
Deputy headteacher Julie Normanton, who is responsible for admissions at the school, said: "In the current circumstances it would be unprofessional of us to instigate transfers of children from other schools.
"However, we remain hopeful that the Free School will stay open, that children who are currently suffering at other schools can transfer, and we can welcome a new cohort of Year 7 children in September."
Mrs Normanton reiterated concerns that the local authority was rushing through transfers from the Free School following letters and "bullying" telephone calls to parents from the LEA.
"We don't know what the future holds but neither do we believe it's necessary to speed through transfers, particularly without the appropriate paperwork and handover information. There is absolutely no need for parents of children in Year 5, who don't start secondary school until September 2016, to commit yet.
"We're also concerned that some of our families have been visited at home by the national tabloid press who have addresses and names that we know have not come from them or the Free School."
The Free School opened in 2013 with just Year 7 and has since tripled in size. It was planned to grow as each year group was added but only to a maximum of 780 children, by 2019, in keeping with its caring, nurturing ethos.