A school at risk of losing its governing body is urging education chiefs to rethink their plans — with the help of a bright yellow badge.

The parent-teacher association at St. George's Preparatory School has dished out hundreds of Save Our Board of Trustees badges since it was revealed last month that Government is planning to cluster groups of public schools under one board.

Parents, pupils, staff and supporters of St. George's — including several MPs — are wearing the badges to show their opposition to the idea of the aided school losing its own autonomous board.

The PTA is also circulating a petition and urging parents to join a letter-writing campaign.

PTA President Sandra Neal told The Royal Gazette: "We don't have an issue with the plan to form cluster boards for the maintained schools.

"But we continue to remain unclear as to what benefits these changes will bring to the aided schools and we are becoming increasingly frustrated as the school year-end wraps up and we don't have definitive answers of what the school system will look like for September and going forward.

"The aided schools have asked to see the legislation so we can better understand what Government is trying to do but to date we have received nothing."

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons is one of the Opposition MPs backing the 133-year-old school.

"I completely understand St. George's Prep PTA's concern at the potential loss of their longstanding and effective board of trustees," he said.

"I sincerely hope that Government will work with the aided schools to build on their successful governance model, rather than rejecting it for an unproven cluster board approach."

St. George's, on Church Folly Lane, is one of four aided government schools with boards which manage their own grants and appoint staff.

Sandys Secondary Middle School, the Berkeley Institute and Whitney Institute Middle School — which may close this month for safety reasons — could also lose their individual boards under the cluster scheme.