Professor Neil Kay, a member of the Toward school board, said: "They have discussed the possibility of deferring the closures for six months.

I've got the wee ones coming down to the wall there speaking to me, telling me all their stories. I would miss that

Glassary woman

"There's no clear 'off the hook' at all. The discussion was about finance, going to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive for more funding.

"If they do not get that funding, there's a clear, implied threat that these same schools might be considered again."

An elderly woman who lives beside Glassary Primary School said: "I've got the wee ones coming down to the wall there speaking to me, telling me all their stories. I would miss that.

"What do they want to close it for anyway? It's just not right."

An inquiry by the Scottish Parliament's education committee, published on Tuesday, criticised the way the council had reached the decision to shut the schools.

Parents are anxious about their children's future

The inquiry was sparked by a petition from Toward Primary School, which was concerned about the consultation process.

Falkirk East Labour MSP Cathy Peattie, a member of the committee, said it appeared the council had "inaccurately or selectively" interpreted crucial documents from the Accounts Commission on surplus capacity in schools.

The report appealed to the council to defer the closures, and called for new national guidelines on school closures in rural areas.

It also called for more consultation and for Argyll and Bute to be given a special allowance in line with island authorities.

Group teaching

Ms Peattie said: "There's a lot of strong feeling and there are a lot of people willing to sit down and talk to the council and I think that's what's important.

"The councillors do need to get round a table with the parents and teachers in the area to find a way forward."

However, the council said that with rolls at some schools as low as two, six and 15, pupils could risk losing out on some elements of the curriculum which depended on group teaching.

Glassary resident: "The wee ones speak to me"

Scottish National Party councillor and education committee chairman, Campbell Cameron, said: "We have an over-capacity. We have too few spaces for too few children.

"In fact, practically speaking we have too many buildings and we've brought forward a consultation process which looks at six of these buildings where there are nearby schools which could take account of the children."

While power is shared between the four main parties on the council, Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament have called on their colleagues to draw back from closures.

George Lyon, Lib-Dem MSP for Argyll and Bute, said: "Even the very principles on which the closure programme's been put forward are fundamentally flawed.

"Therefore, I think the councillors will be under immense pressure to actually scrap the closure programme and look again, given all the new circumstances we now have."