Classical music filled the school hall as children filed in class by class. Headteacher Gill Ingold waited patiently for them to settle before beginning assembly.

Patience is a virtue and the 16 teachers, including Ms Ingold and deputy head Robert Kilby, have plenty of it at St Anne's Special School.

Each one of the 75 children, aged between six and 16, at the Lewes school is special. Each has differing needs.

Their problems and conditions range from speech and language difficulties to autism, behavioural problems and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

There are children with rare syndromes who display a complex and subtle mixture of different conditions and needs.

Some have been excluded from mainstream schools.

But the guiding ideology of the school is to remember whatever their problems, they are still children. St Anne's is a haven for them all.

Now the way the school cares for and cherishes each of them is under threat.

East Sussex County Council is planning to shut the school because of a drop in numbers, caused, in part, by its policy of referring fewer pupils there.

If the plans go ahead, the primary school will close by August and remaining secondary pupils will be transferred to mainstream classrooms by July 2007.

The proposal has been put to the public before a final decision is made on April 15, giving St Anne's just under three months to prove why it is so special.

Friday assembly is merit assembly. Children are called up to receive certificates not only for academic prowess but also for less tangible achievements.

Keiran Ireland, 12, was rewarded for "fabulous work in all lessons." Thomas Downs, seven, was given a certificate because he "ate up all his vegetables".

Ms Ingold said: "The idea is to raise their self-esteem and confidence and to promote good behaviour by rewarding it.

"Some of them, before they came to us, won't have got rewards for their work or particularly wanted to work. It is just as important somebody is keen as well as doing good work."

In a school where every child requires constant attention, teachers do not waste lesson time disciplining trouble-makers.

Ms Ingold said: "There is a very clear behavioural system for the whole school. If the pupil does something unacceptable, the teacher carries on teaching but the pupil's name is put on the board.

"If they carry on, they get a cross. If they get four crosses a card will be sent to myself or Robert and we remove them from class. They seem to understand."

Those who have not had their name on the board receive points which, in the best tradition, are turned into prizes and certificates at the end of the week.

In Mary Beattie's class, 2A, the children were being given ticks on tortoise pictures if they had a good playtime.

Francis Bailey, eight, is 2A's class representative on the school council - a body of pupils who make plans to improve their school.

Francis is being slowly introduced to mainstream education and goes to Newick Primary School three days a week.

He is so concerned about the threat to St Anne's he has written a personal plea to Prime Minister Tony Blair calling for it to stay open.

Francis said: "I like the way people teach. There are lots of people with problems who get taught properly here.

"If I had not come here, I would have not have been ready to go to Newick School."

East Sussex County Council wants to move children in to special needs units in mainstream schools if St Anne's closes but many parents say the concept has serious flaws.

Mrs Ingold said: "We believe the children here need to be in a special school."

"When we have children who have achieved enough to go back into mainstream we would be the first to decide with the parents to recommend a move back.

"We have at least one child a year successfully integrated into the mainstream.

"Things in mainstream schools have come a long way in the past few years but they are still not right for all the children.

"The children are at risk of being bullied. They are usually intimidated and very shy. For them it is a big place.

"This is like a family here. Nobody can do anything in this school without us knowing."

Kyle Smith, 16, and his classmates were working on an IT project which involved putting images on to a soundtrack.

Kyle, who hopes to be a carpenter, said: "It is a good school. It has taught me a lot of things. The teachers understand me.

"Instead of having 39 people in a class we have seven. We get a lot of the teacher's time."

IT teacher Kirsty Rathbone agreed. She said: "The size of the class means they can always have my attention. They can work at their own pace and learn from each other. They are not lost or stuck at the back of the classroom."

Art, play and speech therapy sessions help children overcome their problems.

Many of the pupils might not be able to speak, read or write well but the school's emphasis on art allows them to express themselves in other ways.

It has earned St Anne's an Artsmark Gold award by the Arts Council of England for excellence in arts, drama and dance.

Ms Ingold said: "Most of them would never have been really good readers or writers.

"When they leave school they need to talk to people properly and know what is right and what is wrong. We have got to look at their whole life ahead of them."

A conscientious Year 10 maths class was busy cutting and colouring shapes and arranging them into sets, helped by teaching assistant Anne Funnell, who has been supporting the children at the school for 16 years.

She said: "They are all special to me. I just think they are lovely.

"They all have quite complicated problems. I just think they deserve all the time we can give them. In a large classroom they are not going to get that.

"Here they are not having to compete with 20 other kids."

Vicky Matthews, 14, has been at the school for two years. She has blossomed in front of her teachers and become an authoritative voice on why St Anne's should not close.

She said: "I think the council is being harsh. There are a lot of children with epilepsy and all sorts of problems. They would not be able to cope in a mainstream school.

"The teachers are nice to you here. They help you with your problems. They helped me a lot with my personal problems. Lots of the little ones are happy here."

County Hall, the council building within which St Anne's future will be decided, towers over the old school building.

Staff and pupils hope if the school's closure is ultimately a question of cutting costs, that the council will come to realise the value of St Anne's is priceless.