Two ‘outstanding’ schools in St Albans are a step closer to becoming one, after plans to amalgamate were backed by councillors.

Currently St Alban and St Stephen Catholic Infant and Nursery School takes pupils between the ages of three and seven.

And St Alban and St Stephen Catholic Junior School takes youngsters who are aged seven to 11.

But the schools – which already have a federated governing body – have drawn up plans to amalgamate into a single primary school from September (2020).

On Wednesday (December 11) the plans were backed by the county council’s education, libraries and localism cabinet panel.

And now the recommendation will be passed to the county council’s cabinet for final approval, at its January meeting.

According to the schools’ governing body the proposal is ‘in the best interests of the local community and children’.

“The Governing Body’s judgement is that one school will provide a consistent approach to each child’s primary education  under the leadership and management of one headteacher and one staffing structure,” says the report to the panel.

At the meeting councillors heard that 77 per cent of the 13 responses to the public consultation supported the plans to amalgamate.

There were just two responses received as part of the statutory consultation – one in favour and one against.

The objection related to increased traffic and dangerous parking. But the report to the cabinet panel said the amalgamated school would offer the same number of pupil places as currently offered by the infant and junior schools.

As part of the proposal, the report says infant aged children will continue to be educated on the current infant site – and juniors on the current junior school site.

Both the infant and junior schools are currently graded as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.