Last updated at 09:47, Tuesday, 29 January 2013

NORTHUMBERLAND County Council's ruling executive decided Allendale Middle School should close on August 31 this year.

The closure decision came despite the fact ward councillor Colin Horncastle said he had identified a possible sponsor for the doomed school.
Coun. Horncastle also pointed out that guidance from Ofsted suggested that schools in Allendale's condition should be given a year to improve their performance - but officlals said this was only guidance, not a requirement.
Officials said that the middle school had failed to sustain improvements after a previous poor Ofsted report, and even if it survived, it would face debts of over £200,000 which would be impossible to deal with.
The executive voted unanimously to close the middle school and to incorporate the school building into an enlarged Allendale First School., which would become a primary school.
The governing bodies of Shaftoe Trust First School at Haydon Bridge, and Whitfield First School have also agreed to go for primary school status, while Haydon Bridge High School will drop its entry level from 13 to 11 to become a secondary school.

First published at 13:08, Monday, 28 January 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk