Parents have rejected concerns about isolation at Langlands

The move comes after planners rejected proposals to replace Langlands with a unit in Dumfries High School.

Parents fighting the closure have given a cautious welcome to the announcement of the school survey.

The council is to compare renovation costs to those of building a completely new unit at the Dumfries secondary.

Sharon Dollan Powers, who has a son at Langlands, said parents had been asking for the survey since September last year.

"The fact that they are willing to do it now means some shift has occurred," she said.

"They have opened the door just ever so slightly for this to go forward.

Proposal rejected

"They are citing isolation as being the issue for needing to close Langlands.

"I can tell you that my son doesn't have the mental capacity to understand what social isolation is."

Primary age pupils at Langlands have already been transferred to a unit in Georgetown Primary.

The council put forward plans for a similar project for the older children in the grounds of Dumfries High School.