New federation between two schools in a north Herefordshire village formalised

The two separate governing bodies of Weobley Primary School and Weobley High School have now been dissolved and a new governing body has been set up to oversee the education of children in the area from nursery right through to their GCSEs.

It follows a lengthy period of negotiation, consultation and restructuring after the idea of a federation was first mooted almost a year ago.

Executive head teacher, Dean Williams, said: "The benefits are clear to see. There are significant cuts in the national education budget but by adopting this model we are able to ensure a much more sustainable future for our schools whilst focussing on real quality of provision.”

Although the two sites still operate independently, the close proximity of the schools to each other means that there are many opportunities to share ideas and resources as well as working together on every aspect of provision under the leadership of Mr Williams.

Another key development has been the decision by Herefordshire Council's cabinet to allow all pupils who attend the primary school priority places at the high school.

Mr Williams added: "This was an important part of our plan and I am delighted that the cabinet have agreed to the proposal.

"If we are to work towards a ‘through-education’ model, pupils need to be able progress seamlessly and without fear of having to transfer schools after a key stage. This is great news for our families."