Doncaster Council wants to save more than £600,000 a year by scrapping free transport to faith schools and abolishing free passes for all post-16 students.

The local authority has also suggested cutting free travel for children in Stainforth who attend Hatfield Visual Arts College, while funding for a school bus service between Moorends and Trinity Academy has also been earmarked for the chop.

Staff and governors from across the town, however, condemned the cost-cutting plans at an extraordinary council meeting this week - branding them as "socially exclusive" and claiming they will have a detrimental effect on attendance, punctuality and attainment.

Academy principal Ian Brew said: "Trinity's managed to achieve quite a lot in three years - we've got some real momentum going in terms of attendance and results. We just feel this is a real threat to us and would urge the council to reconsider."

Peter Reeves, deputy headteacher at Hatfield Visual Arts College, said: "What we're trying to do is improve life chances of all the young people we serve. These school buses are a vital part of actually getting the students to school to give them the opportunity to succeed."

While Mary Lawrence, head at McAuley Catholic High School, said: "What worries us is that we're in a position now where parents are being encouraged to choose the education they want for their children. This seems to be for those parents who can afford to choose.

"It'll be the most disadvantaged youngsters who won't be able to make those choices."

Fears were expressed at the meeting that more parents being forced to drive their children to school would increase congestion on the roads, while concern that the proposals contradict government policy for providing sustainable and environmentally-friendly transport were also raised.

Bill Webster, deputy principal of Doncaster College, also relayed fears over the timing of the transport shake-up - with changes due to be phased in between now and 2010.

He said: "The very moment when this funding runs out is when the new diploma line comes in. The one thing this relies on is students moving between centres. Some further work really needs to be done to make this clear - we have concerns about it."

The changes do not affect youngsters who have special educational needs and some pupils will be eligible for free transport if they come from low income families.

A public consultation into the proposals ends today. The matter is likely to be discussed again later this month with a view to the
council cabinet reaching a final decision in December.