Campaigners are hoping they can still stop plans to turn Oxford's Peers School into the city's first flagship academy.

On Tuesday, the plans passed their first vital milestone when county councillors voted in favour of closing the Littlemore school - a formal requirement if it is to reopen next September as the Oxford Academy, to be run by the Diocese of Oxford as part of a £30m project.

But yesterday, anti-academy campaigners said they remained hopeful that they could prevent the plans being "steamrollered through".

Chris Blakey, of the Oxfordshire Anti-Academy Alliance, said: "I still have faith in our abilities to galvanise people. When people do have the chance to discuss and talk about issues relating to the academy, our findings show people are against it. They want a good local school which is fully resourced, but not if this means surrendering public property."

At the county council meeting on Tuesday, cabinet member for schools Michael Waine said he had not been persuaded that there was any other option.

Councillors also noted the lack of responses received during the first consultation period, which was held over the summer.

Mouchel Parkman, the company managing the consultation, said it had received 22 responses after distributing 4,000 brochures to homes in the Peers' catchment area.

But Mr Blakey said he was not convinced that meant there was no anti-academy feeling in the area. He added: "It's a dangerous line for the councillors to take of ticking the box anyway and giving it the go-ahead even though there has been very little proper consultation."

He branded the consultation exercise "a damp squib", saying: "It seems it was designed from the start not to get responses from people.

"Although it may show there is a great deal of apathy, the hundreds of people we have spoken to have no desire to see an academy."

He added: "Lots of people think it's a done deal and you do have to ask if they are just going through the motions with this consultation period."

A second consultation period will now take place over the autumn before a final decision is made in November.

A public meeting is being held at Peers at 7pm tonight about the academy and the anti-Academy campaign.