D-day for high school merger proposals

12:30pm Monday 12th May 2008

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A DECISION on the whether to close two high schools to pave the way for a £33m Academy will be discussed by St Helens Council's Executive this Thursday (May 15).

The council's top brass will consider whether to axe St Aelred's Catholic Technology College and Newton High School and replace them with an Academy, which will cater for 1,650 pupils aged from 11 to 18.

If a decision is taken by the council that both schools should close in the future, the final say on whether an Academy should be created will be the subject to the approval from Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

Under the proposals the Academy - on the site of the current Newton High school - would open in 2011.

The local education authority suggests a fall in pupil numbers is a major reason for closing the schools and creating a new learning complex.

In documents prepared ahead of the meeting, council officers acknowledge that there has been a degree of opposition to the closure of St Aelreds after receiving a petition containing 1040 names. However, the council adds that a number of parents have since contacted them, asking that their names be removed.

St Helens Council is also said to be aware of possible risks over the merger, including parents who have threatened to take out their children of the Academy, which could reduce numbers.

Council chiefs are also aware of potential problems of combining two schools and have already started a Transition Plan to minimise any potential disruption.

A month ago hundreds of pupils staged a walk out at St Aelreds in protest at the proposed merger. They refused to return to lessons and gathered on nearby fields. A delegation of pupils has met with the head teacher to air their views.