Parents fighting plans to close 45 schools are considering a takeover of the council behind the move.

Documents obtained by The Journal reveal that members of Northumberland Middle School Action Groups are planning to force a mayoral election and then put up a middle-school candidate to take charge of the council.

The plan - which would change the political system in Northumberland - will be discussed by parents from action groups on Saturday when they discuss their next step after today's meeting of Northumberland County Council, where a move to two-tier education is expected to be confirmed.

Among items parents are considering is the idea of forcing a mayoral referendum, which they can do if they get 5pc of the electorate to sign a petition.

This equates to about 12,500 people - far fewer than the 30,000 who have already signed petitions to save middle schools.

Parents are also considering legal challenges over the way the council has pushed through plans for its schools re-organisation.

The agenda for Saturday's parents' meeting says: "A unique opportunity has been identified where real pressure can be applied to the county council in the fight to retain three-tier education. Working together, the action groups can organise a petition to the council requesting them to hold a referendum for the council to be led by a mayor.

"If this is successful, then the action groups can offer a candidate for mayor on a `Keep Three Tiers' ticket. Once elected, the mayor can stop the school closures."

It goes on: "To date, the action groups have been reactive to the council's agenda. This proposal puts the action groups on the attack and the council on the defensive."

The idea came from Ponteland Parents' Action Group, whose chairman John Harrison said: "It's one of a handful of specific actions we're considering to stop the madness. If the council leadership won't listen to us, we'll become the council leadership."

The full Northumberland council will meet today to vote in principle on re-organising schools to a two-tier system. Those plans, which would close 45 middle schools, have already been endorsed by the council's executive and are backed by all high-school heads and most first-school heads in the county.

But parents' groups have sprung up at middle schools and mobilised opposition to the proposals.

Parents from all middle schools - and some first schools - will demonstrate outside County Hall today with a "paper wall" of their comments being erected to meet councillors.

Council leader Michael Davey said: "We want people to tell us what they think - what they have to say is a vital part of the process. The problem with going down this road is that it could take nearly a year and even then it will not help a single pupil in the county.

"The problems we face will not go away. We have falling pupil numbers, poor-quality buildings and we need to drive up educational standards.

"I would ask all parents to work with us, not against us."

Under the Local Government Act 2000, people can at any time petition for their council to be changed to a mayoral structure.

When the Act first came into force, Northumberland chose not to take up the mayoral option, though other areas of the North-East - North Tyneside, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool - have directly-elected mayors.

If a petition is successful in getting 5pc of the electorate to sign up, the council must hold a referendum on having a mayor within six months.

If the referendum succeeds, a vote is then held in May or October, whichever is first.

The Journal: Today's Voice of the North

Page 2: Private schools to close at a month's notice