A Canvey school looks set to close despite a huge majority in favour of saving it.

Campaigning parents branded a consultation report by education bosses an "utter waste of money" after it recommended the closure of Furtherwick Park School - choosing an option that just 8 per cent of the public supported.

Under the plans put forward by Essex County Council, Furtherwick Park would stop taking children from 2008 and close in 2011.

Jan Payne, who has a son at the school and has led the campaign to keep the school open, said the public consultation had been pointless.

She said: "If they knew what they were going to do in the first place, why waste money on consulting parents at three schools? They have not gone on what the public have voted for. It is a total whitewash.

"This isn't the end of it. We will keep fighting this."

Last week, Furtherwick Park topped a new kind of Government league table on Canvey, showing the biggest improvement of the three secondaries on the island.

The results prompted headteacher Wendy Missons to urge the county council to reconsider the closure of her school.

The report says the school's closure is deemed necessary because of forecasts there will be 788 surplus places there by April 2011, making it financially unviable.

Parents were faced with three options for change in island schooling.

The first option proposed closing Furtherwick Park and building a new Castle View School on the site, with the possibility for housing on the remainder.

Cornelius Vermuyden school would be remodelled and a vocational college would then be built on the vacated Castle View site.

Option two also meant the closure of Furtherwick Park, but Castle View would remain on its own site and be refurbished, along with Cornelius Vermuyden.

The vocational college would be built on the Furtherwick Park site.

A third option, suggested by parents, was considered at the 11th hour and involved keeping Furtherwick open and turning Castle View into a vocational college.

Out of 222 responses, 18 supported option 1; 51 supported option 2; and 147 were in favour of option three. Six did not back a particular option.

Much of the funding for the shake-up would come from the Government's Building Schools for the Future programme, which this week was revealed to be in disarray and behind on almost all of its targets.

Stephen Castle, cabinet member for education, said: "Those who have taken part will help to shape the future of education services on the Island and help us to deliver the best possible future for all our children and young people."

However, he refused to answer why the wishes of the majority who had been consulted had been ignored, saying it could prejudice councillors' debate next week.

Essex County Council's cabinet will meet at 10am next Tuesday to consider the recommendations.

None of the headteachers from Canvey's three secondaries were available for comment.