Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Lead Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Roz Chadd, has today agreed to open two formal consultations on the proposed mergers of Orchard Lea Infant and Junior Schools in Fareham, and Pennington Church of England Infant and Junior Schools in Lymington. The consultations will open on the County Council’s website on Friday, 21 February.
Both Orchard Lea schools have been identified for potential investment as part of a Government programme to rebuild and refurbish schools which require major improvement. Should this investment be agreed, this would represent an opportunity to replace the current set up of two separately run buildings with a single primary school in one building. This would come with fewer running costs and therefore provide greater long-term financial sustainability.
The proposal to merge Pennington Church of England Infant and Junior Schools has been put forward to address falling pupil numbers and the associated impacts on both schools’ budgets. If agreed, merging the two schools would ensure a more resilient financial position, staffing structure and settled pupil numbers.
Both proposals would also remove the current requirement for pupils to transition from Year 2 in an infant school to Year 3 in a new junior school. The proposals have the support of all schools’ governing bodies and follow two informal public consultations which took place last year, gathering initial feedback on the proposed amalgamations.
Commenting on the decision to proceed to two formal consultations, Councillor Chadd said: “Thank you to those who shared their views on the proposed mergers of these schools during the initial public consultations. Having thoroughly considered the feedback so far, as well as the opportunities and benefits of the potential mergers, I have now agreed to proceed to two formal consultations on each of these proposals. I encourage parents with children at the schools and everyone with an interest in the proposals to take part in these consultations and to share their views.”
Should the proposal for the two Orchard Lea schools be approved, a new primary school would accommodate a projected demand of 60 pupils in each year group (Reception to Year 6) and would open in July 2028. A merger of the two Pennington schools would be achieved by closing the infant school and extending the age range of the junior school to become a primary with 30 children in each year group (Reception to Year 6), with effect from 1 January 2026.
Full details of the proposals for the Orchard Lea and Pennington schools can be found on the County Council’s website.