Changes to south-west education system to be discussed

Dorset county council in the south-west of England is to discuss changes to the regional education system that could include merging two Swanage schools.

There has been a drop in pupil numbers in the region and as a result St George's CE (Church of England) and St Mark's CE schools may be merged, while several other schools in the region could become primary schools.

The council has already reverted to a two-level education system in order to remove 1,000 pupil places in the region that are not needed.

John England, Dorset county council's head of learning and school improvement, said: "We have said before that we have a serious problem on our hands with pupil numbers in Purbeck falling and the probability of schools being forced to close because they will not have enough pupils to survive."

He added that changes need to be made to make sure pupils in Dorset have the best opportunities to make the most of their education.

In other news, a new report is expected to warn that the government's policy of striving for more C grades at GCSE level could be to the detriment of pupils capable of achieving higher and those likely to receive poorer results.

Written by Theo Foulds.




Published On 23/11/2009