Families protested against the planned closures

The endorsement from the full council came despite protests from parents.

They were supported by Plaid Cymru's Cynog Dafis, AM for Mid and West Wales, and Ffred Ffransis, education spokesman for Welsh language group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg.

The parents had asked the full council to defer a decision until the Welsh Assembly publishes its report on schools in rural communities within a fortnight.

Moylegrove's 130-year-old Ysgol Trewyddel could now close at the end of August 2003.

'Too expensive'

Before the decision on Thursday, families from the Pembrokeshire villages of Moylegrove, near Cardigan, and Dinas, near Fishguard, said that they do not want their children to go to larger "area" schools created by the merger of smaller campuses in the locality.

Pembrokeshire County Council's education committee deemed the two Welsh-medium schools - each with fewer than 30 pupils - too expensive to run.

The campaign to keep Ysgol Trewyddel open has been backed by Preseli AM Richard Edwards, Archbishop of Wales Dr Rowan Williams and BBC journalist John Humphrys.

Education committee members endorsed the closure recommendations despite the meeting in Haverfordwest on Thursday being lobbied by parents and governors.

The recommendations were made by education director Gerson Davies, who attended Dinas School as a child.

Unfilled places

Up to seven small primary schools in the county face an uncertain future following the local education authority's decision to consider closing those with fewer than 57 pupils to create larger area schools.

An education committee report in January showed that the three smallest schools in the county had a cost per pupil which was considerably more than the average for schools in Pembrokeshire.

An Audit Commission report three years ago said Pembrokeshire had 2,800 unfilled places in its schools and could save up to �370,000 per year by cutting its capacity by 2,000 pupil places.