Outraged councillors joined protesters packed into the town hall for the planning meeting to discuss plans to flatten the Edwardian girls grammar school, known as Leigh Central, plus the adjoining Victorian Sacred Heart Primary school.
The state of the art single school building set to replace the schools in Windermere Road - including eye opening roof top playgrounds, garden and SureStart nursery - was blasted as looking like a McDonalds' burgers style "boring box."
And planning committee members voted 9 - 1 to defer, ordering Wigan Education Authority to provide more information about why the Central school in particular can't be modified to remain in educational use, or indeed be saved.
They will also now make a first an internal tour before considering the controversial scheme again.
Even the council themselves acknowledge that the two storey Leigh girls grammar school is a "fine example" of Edwardian architecture.
Opened in 1921, it boasts a wealth of detailing which has survived intact from opening in 1921, and still has all original fittings to make it "one of the best examples of a building of local architectural interersty in the borough" without the blessing of Government listing protection.
But despite all this, schools chiefs insist it can't be economically refurbished for modern day education.
And borough director of environment Martin Kimber told the planning committee that he thought the bid by the council's new education chief Nick Hudson was "very finally balanced."
He said: "There's no doubt that this is a splendid building and one that fully deserves it's listing by the council as one of our buildings of architectural and historic merit, but it is not one that is nationally listed and not protected from demolition.
Sacred Heart Deputy Head Jennifer Warner told councillors the existing building were "very tired" and pupils and staff deserved the new school, which was a design "to be proud of."
But objectors' witness Peter Grimshaw, one of 50 official objectors a leading member of the Save Our School pressure group, accused education department experts of "lazy planning" with "no vision."
He said: "It is absolute nonsense to say the existing school can't be remodelled to provide a superior standard of education and that the only option is to reduce this marvellous piece of architecture to rubble.
"Instead they have come up with a boring box which would be more at home one the south shore of Blackpool's Golden Mile as a rather uninspiring cafe.
"The education authorities are breaking just about every policy of the council's own Unitary Development Plan with this plan, which will prove to be a test case which is being watched very very carefully by organisations like Wigan Civic Trust, the Prince's Regeneration Trust and the Twentieth Century Society."
He was strongly backed by Tory coun Richard Clayton who said: "If we pass this we must take a very serious look indeed at what we actually stand for."
While Labour Vice Chair and ex Mayor of Wigan Coun Eunice Smethurst added: "Leigh Central is a little gem.
"I support a new building for the children but surely we could look to save this building by twisting around the new school so that it takes in what is now the old Leigh Courts."