Parents welcome the merger of two schools (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Parents welcome the merger of two schools

PARENTS and governors have welcomed plans to merge Didbrook and Toddington Primary schools as part of Gloucestershire County Council's battle to tackle surplus places.

County education chief Jackie Hall welcomed the two schools' enthusiastic approach to the proposed 'federation' at a public meeting in Winchcombe last week to discuss the plans.

She said: "Both Didbrook and Toddington schools seem to be fully supportive of our proposals and I wish them luck in the future. They have begun the process of integration already and everyone seems very happy."

David Ogden, the headmaster of Didbrook School, said: "There is a good feeling about the proposal for the schools. The parents and both governing bodies are working together already and we are doubling up on things like football teams and school trips.

"The merger would enable the resulting school, still on the two separate sites, to offer a better curriculum and more educational opportunities to the children, and the chance to have classes of narrower age groups than at present."

Ciaran MacCana, chairman of governors for Toddington School, said the school was in favour of the proposals. "We are just forming a committee made up of representatives from both governing bodies so we can proceed with the finer details of the proposal. We are in favour of it. This way two community schools get to stay open."

While the staff numbers would effectively double, one of the headteachers' posts will be lost, although Mr Ogden said both heads were philosophical about the situation.

"It's more important to save the schools," he said.

The proposed closure of Toddington was rejected by the then Secretary of State in 1999. Five schools serve Winchcombe and the surrounding villages, which have limited access to public transport. Although the area was reviewed in the late 1990s and capacity removed by creating a smaller, all-through primary school in Winchcombe, there are still projected to be 157 surplus places, the county's education review found.

Winchcombe Church of England School is anticipating a drop in demand and said it would change its intake to meet this. Oak Hill, a popular school, is split between two communities three miles apart, and future demand appears strong, said the review.

Mrs Hall said the county council had considered closing both Didbrook and Toddington as recommended by the independent panel which reported earlier this year, but it decided the move would leave too large a geographic gap.