INKBERROW First School has been given the go-ahead to become a primary.
It means the school will hang on to its pupils after Year 4 and take them through Years 5 and 6 before they then go on to high school.
The Regional School’s Commissioner and Head Teacher’s Board granted permission for the age range change in December following a rigorous investigation and discussions with stakeholders.
It means pupils will miss middle school, currently in Pinvin, and enter directly into Pershore High School, or other alternative secondary schools.
The plan submitted and approved included provision from September 2019 onwards, therefore Avonreach Academy Trust’s first schools; Cherry Orchard, Inkberrow, Norton Juxta-Kempsey will be able to take Year 5 pupils from September 2019 and Year 6 pupils from September 2020.
Pershore High School will be able to take Year 7 pupils from September 2021.
The approval is on condition relevant stakeholders attend a number of discussions in the new year to ensure the age range change has a coordinated implementation, for the benefit of pupils across the pyramid.
Headteacher Heather Thomson said the change had been three to four years in the making but the drive had come from the parents.
While acknowledging there were merits for both a two tier and three tier system, she added: “Key Stage 2 was designed to be taught in one school.
“We are an Outstanding school and we provide an outstanding education but the children have to break off from that and make the transition to another school and start all over again and some children do not cope very well with that.
“We look forward at Inkberrow to extending our outstanding educational provision to include Upper Key Stage Two and are excited about this new opportunity.”
Inkberrow is not the only school in the Pershore orbit to extend its education offering to Year 6 and will be joined by Cherry Orchard First School in Pershore and Norton Juxta Kempsey just outside Worcester.
The school, which has sufficient space and buildings, plans to grow organically offering Year 5 from 2019 and Year 6 from 2020 and is recruiting additional staff accordingly.
