Merger plans for Northampton schools to go ahead
Plans to alter the way four Northampton schools are run will move forward, despite concerns.
In July, Northamptonshire County Council revealed plans to merge failing Sunnyside Primary School in Kingsthorpe with Woodvale Primary in Goldings.
At the same time, the council said it wanted to merge failing Bellinge Primary School with Ecton Brook Primary.
Both schemes were opposed by parents, resulting in plans to merge Sunnyside and Woodvale being scrapped.
Instead, members of the council's cabinet last night heard the two schools would now work under a 'hard federation', meaning they work together closely and share a head teacher.
The plan was criticised by Northampton Borough Council member, Councillor Andrew Simpson (Lib Dem, Kingsley).
He said: "I was delighted to hear the council had decided against a merger for Sunnyside and Woodvale, but what's the difference between a merger and a federation?
"This federation nonsense is just a merger in another name."
And county councillor Mark Bullock (Lab, Corby Central), said: "A federation is a daft idea and I predict it won't work."
While the merger plan for Sunnyside and Woodvale has been pulled, the council's cabinet voted to go ahead with the proposed merger of Bellinge Primary and Ecton Brook Primary.
The move was questioned by opposition councillor Jenny Conroy (Lib Dem, Spencer), who said: "I really hope this merger works, but what happens if it doesn't?"
The council's cabinet member for schools, Councillor Andrew Grant (Con, Brackley East), argued both moves were needed.
He added: "We want our children to have the best possible education so they get the best start in life. That's our hope."
Further consultation will be held on the Sunnyside proposals while the Bellinge merger is expected to go ahead on January 1, 2010.
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