TWO schools which are set to be rebuilt as part of a multi-million pound public-private cash plan are to be merged from September.

Hob Moor Infant and Hob Moor Junior Schools in Acomb, York, which currently occupy neighbouring corrugated aluminium buildings, will become one primary school from September.

A similar merger will take place at Upper Poppleton, where the infant and junior schools will merge from September.

Both mergers were proposed by the City of York Council under its policy of creating five-to-11 primary schools where possible, and were approved by the city's School Organisation Committee.

Both were prompted by the departure of head teachers at both infant schools last year, who were replaced by acting heads. New heads will now be appointed for each new primary school.

The Hob Moor merger also came about because the two schools are set to be rebuilt as one primary school by September 2004, under a private-public sector package which should also see the rebuilding of St Oswald's CE Primary School in Fulford and St Barnabas CE Primary School in Leeman Road, York.

Rob Calvert, head teacher at Hob Moor Junior School, told members of the committee that his school was also seeing falling pupil numbers, which made amalgamation even more important.

He said numbers had now dropped to 199 in the junior school, which meant there would have to be one teacher redundancy this year.

"We think the decision to amalgamate is the right one for educational reasons, that it is in the interest of the staff, governors and parents."

Part of the Hob Moor site has also been earmarked for the possible building of a new special school, under plans to change the city's special schools provision.

Jim Porteous, acting committee chairman, asked the council's education director Patrick Scott if there was any connection between the merger and the special school plans.

Mr Scott said the two were separate. He said detailed plans had now been submitted to Government about the rebuilding package for the merged Hob Moor Schools and the other two primaries.

However, the special school plan had not yet been approved by councillors, and officers were working on a report on the effects of traffic and other issues before anything was decided.

Updated: 14:02 Friday, January 25, 2002