A leading Liberal Democrat politician has backed campaigners who are attempting to save a Shrewsbury secondary school and described plans to close it as ‘idiocy’.

Party president Tim Farron yesterday met staff and pupils from The Wakeman School, who presented him with their appeal documents against the closure which he will take back to Westminster to advance the school’s cause.

Mr Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said Shropshire Council had made a serious mistake with its decision to close the Wakeman from August 2013.

The decision was approved by the council’s cabinet last week.

Conservative-led Shropshire Council said that while educational standards at the Wakeman were good, pupil numbers made it ‘financially unsustainable’.

The school has 240 pupils on roll from September, out of a capacity of 675.

Mr Farron said: “In my constituency, I have got at least two schools smaller than this. The benefits of a smaller school is that students are more often nurtured by the staff and their friendships are much deeper.

“This is a short-term, short-sighted decision by the council. We all know the size of Shrewsbury is going to get bigger. As a consequence there will be a demand for another school.”

“What idiocy to close a school now when in a decade or less, you will have to build another school at much greater expense.”

Officials at the Wakeman yesterday revealed they had launched an appeal against the council’s decision to close it, lodging documents with the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, with a decision expected in about six weeks.

Mr Farron also visited Lydbury North School to hear of its project to merge with Onny School during his visit to the county.

He said the federation should act as a ‘trailblazing’ blueprint for other at-risk schools across Britain.

“It’s inspiring,” he added.

By Chris Burn and Danny Carden