Head in school closure claim

A head teacher at a Staffordshire high school claims she has been told her school will close even though an announcement is yet to be made.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council will announce next week the result of its consultation over schools in the area.

Sue Chesterton, head teacher at Trentham High School, Stoke-on-Trent, said her school will be amalgamated with Blurton High School.

The council said it will not comment ahead of the announcement.

Site will close

The council said all schools will be reviewed independently after protests at previous plans to close all 17.

It had considered replacing the high schools with 12 "centres of excellence", including four academies.

Ms Chesterton said in a recent meeting she was told nothing had changed as regards Trentham High, in the south of the city, which she believes will close.

She had hoped Trentham High School would join up with St Joseph's School and Trent Vale, with all the sites remaining in use under one head teacher and shared staff.

"At the moment, Trentham High will close and merge with Blurton High and the Trentham site will not be used," she said.

An announcement is expected on 8 February.