Haywood High School pupils have made badges for the campaign

Students at Haywood High School and Engineering College, in Burslem, are printing Hands Off Haywood badges.

The city's 17 high schools would close and be replaced by 12 new schools under the proposals.

Head teachers will meet on Friday to discuss the �200m plans, which have gone out to public consultation.

Year nine Haywood pupil Bryony said: "It worries me very much because it'll cause a lot of stress.

'Complicated and confusing'

"We have GCSEs coming up soon and we won't be able to concentrate."

Her classmate Nadia said: "I've got other younger brothers and sisters coming here and this whole thing is just going to be complicated and confusing for everyone.

James Brindley Science College needs investment

"The pupils won't be able to get the best out of their learning as they could do because of all the hassle it's going to create."

The proposals would also see six special schools close to be replaced with four new ones.

Elected mayor Mark Meredith has said the plans are a "golden opportunity" to improve education in the city, where many of the schools are not performing well.

The council said it needed fewer schools because secondary school pupil numbers were projected to fall to 12,500 in 2015, compared with 14,500 in 2002.

But Haywood High head teacher David Dickinson said: "They seem to have come in with a ready made plan which I would call a nuclear approach of just blitzing all the schools, closing them all, ignoring the good practice and then saying, 'We will start again'."

'Deliver the goods'

Not all head teachers are opposed to the plans, however.

Clive Rigby, who runs James Brindley Science College, in Tunstall, said the scheme was needed to replace the school's rundown premises.

He added: "In order to transform learning in Stoke-on-Trent and make them world class schools we need to close all of the schools.