Parents campaigning to save Crossroads Primary in East Ayrshire from closure are hopeful of a reprieve after the Education Secretary Mike Russell agreed to meet with them.

The rural school near Hurlford has a roll of 53 pupils. The Scottish Government rejected an appeal to keep the school open despite an SNP manifesto pledge to protect remote community schools.

It followed the discovery of structural problems which were making the building unsafe. Children have been educated at the campus of Bellfield primary school over the past year until the future of Crossroads Primary was resolved.

There was concern from the Scottish Rural Schools Network, an organisation made up of community groups which campaign for the retention and strengthening of education provision in rural communities, that the decision to close Crossroads Primary would allow local authorities to save money by closing small primary schools.

The decision was also criticised by opposition politicians, with the Conservative's saying that it was a disappointing decision, particularly in light of legislation that was designed to protect smaller schools from closure.

The meeting has been scheduled for August 16, the day the pupils start at their new school two miles away.