Supporters of Ampfield School have persuaded Hampshire County Council to think again about its closure.

The surprise news came via a statement issued by the county at meeting on Tuesday evening, when some 70 persons attended the school to meet adjudicator Alan Parker.

Hampshire leader Ken Thornber wrote: "We are taking a second look at the decision to close Ampfield because although there are arguments for closure, we believe that there may be reasons to keep the school open, some of which may have evolved since the original decision.

"We will be reviewing a number of factors when reconsidering our original decision, including looking at how the school had taken a more active role in the local community and that there is a reasonable possibility pupil numbers will increase to the point of viability, especially when proposed local housing developments are taken into account."

Mr Parker told the meeting that if the county executive decided against closure next Monday his task would finish. But if the county continued to advocate closure then he would report for or against within weeks. If he came up with a compromise solution, that would take longer.

Test Valley deputy council leader Martin Hatley, who represents the Ampfield ward, said his council was unanimous that closure would be "grossly premature".

He claimed it would reduce Church of England primary choice for parents, undermine the pre-school at the village hall and change the character of the conservation area.

Cllr Hatley said that Test Valley was required to make plans for extra homes in the six southern parishes, including Ampfield, and this would lead to demand for more school places.

If the Abbotswood area (earmarked for at least 500 homes) to the north-west of Romsey was developed then Romsey Abbey C of E Primary School would become full. County Councillor Alan Dowden said he remembered when Ampfield School was thriving in the mid-1990s. Hursley C of E school was full and St Francis at Valley Park was full and had a waiting list.

A parent told the meeting that, as a Valley Park resident, she was delighted to send her child to Ampfield.

For the governors, Tony Knight maintained his confidence in the the new leadership at the school. "We believe that numbers attending this school will recover."

A pensioner with family connections to the school said several hundred thousand pounds was spent in the 1990s to erect a new class room at Ampfield and closure would mean that this sum of money would be written off.

Margaret Rothwell, chairman of Ampfield Parish Council, said her council opposed the closure.