Plans to save a troubled Brighton secondary school threatened with closure will be put to city councillors tonight.

East Brighton College of Media Arts (Comart) may shut because of falling pupil numbers and its troubled history.

But Green Party councillors will put a possible rescue package to the schools committee.

It includes using the Comart campus in Whitehawk to provide a small secondary school with 350 to 400 pupils, an Extended School Initiative and a learning and skills centre.

Green education spokesman Richard Mallender said: "Councillors will be discussing the option of closing the school but that is no option.

"The East Brighton community has made it plain it wants a local school for its children. We support that view and believe our proposals offer the school a lifeline and could save the council the enormous amount of money it stands to lose if Comart closes."

An Extended School Initiative could provide a range of community services such as positive parenting courses, breakfast clubs, youth services, clubs for older people, family literacy courses and a health centre.

A new learning and skills centre could help redress the skills shortage in the city, particularly in the construction industry.