County's primary school shake-up

Plans to merge four primary schools in Northamptonshire to boost overall performance have been approved.

Ecton Brook and Woodvale Primary School in Northampton are already informally partnered with two less successful nearby schools.

Now Northamptonshire County Council will merge Bellinge Primary with Ecton Brook, and form a federation between Sunnyside Primary and Woodvale.

Sunnyside has been in special measures since 2007 and Bellinge since 2008.

In order to merge with its partner school, Bellinge will close and re-open as a campus of Ecton Brook.

Outstanding leadership can make an enormous difference to the spirit, the atmosphere and the determination of a school name here

A deputy headteacher will be appointed as head of campus at Bellinge to look after the day-to-day running of the school, while the head teacher will concentrate on the new school.

Sunnyside and Woodvale primary schools will not be closed and will carry on as separate schools but will collaborate.

Councillor Andrew Grant, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "We are absolutely committed to tackling under performance in schools.

"We are doing everything necessary to bring about real improvement for the children and young people of Northamptonshire.

"We have examined both sets of proposals and believe that two quite different solutions are needed to bring about tangible improvements in standards for Bellinge and Sunnyside schools.

"In both sets of circumstances, we have seen how outstanding leadership can make an enormous difference to the spirit, the atmosphere and the determination of a school and its staff."

Sunnyside and Bellinge have been managed by interim executive boards since April because both showed slow progress in improving.

The headteacher of Sunnyside is also already in charge of Woodvale and the headteacher of Bellinge is also in charge of Ecton Brook.