Amble in Northumberland is the latest place to scrap three-tier schools following the decision to switch to a two-tier system by turning five first schools into primary schools.
As part of the move, James Calvert Spence College, which merged with Amble Middle School in 2016 and has since taught pupils aged nine to 18, will become an 11 to 18 (Year six to year 11 plus sixth form) secondary school. Parents backed the move in a consultation.
The North East is rare in England for having a three-tier system in some areas, comprising of first, middle and high schools instead of primary and secondary schools.
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First schools teach pupils from reception to year four, middle schools from year five to year eight, and high schools from year nine to 11, plus lower and upper sixth forms.
The system is still common in Northumberland but also exists in parts of Newcastle and North Tyneside. It divides opinions, a previous proposal to switch to a two-tier system in Hexham was rejected, but Amble's was supported, while Berwick is currently considering a switch.
Middle schools in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland
A three-tier school system operates in parts of the North East alongside a two-tier system.
In Northumberland , there are middle schools in Bellingham, Berwick, Corbridge, Rothbury, Wooler, Hexham, Prudhoe, Morpeth, Ovingham, Seaton Sluice, Spittal and Seaton Delaval.
Amble still technically has a three-tier system, although the middle school and high school are effectively merged at James Calvert Spence College. Soon that will change and James Calvert Spence will become a secondary school with primary schools feeding into it instead of first schools.
In North Tyneside, there are middle schools in Whitley Bay, Monkseaton and Wellfield. Newcastle has three middle schools, all in Gosforth: Central, East and Junior High (formerly Gosforth West).
Do middle schools have a future or will they be scrapped?
In recent years parts of Northumberland have switched to two tiers - there are now 75 primary schools in Northumberland compared to 53 first schools. Alnwick approved its switch to a primary-secondary model in 2016. Amble is the latest to choose to move to two tiers and Berwick could be next.
But in some areas, the three-tier system remains popular. Schools in Hexham and Haydon Bridge rejected a proposal to switch to a two-tier system. Newcastle City Council told ChronicleLive it has no plans to change the three-tier system in Gosforth.
A change could be coming in North Tyneside. Its council said it is 'considering all options' - including either retaining the three-tier system in Monkseaton and Whitley Bay or moving wholly to a primary and secondary school model - as part of a review that runs until 2024.
Councillor Steven Phillips, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning at North Tyneside Council, said: “In North Tyneside we believe that everyone deserves the best possible education, and we’re proud to have created an education system where the learner is firmly placed at the heart of all decisions.
“While we are proud of the education system we have in place, we are also not complacent. We’re currently undergoing a borough-wide Strategic Education Review as part of our Ambition for Education programme which includes working with our partners in the sector and our schools to look at the tier structure of the system, the capacity in our schools and more to ensure its effective and meeting the needs of our residents.
“The Strategic Education Review runs until 2024 and at this stage we are considering all options, including the retention of the existing three-tier structure. Once the review is complete, we’ll share our proposals to enhance our system to help uncap the potential of all learners and to protect the long-term viability of our educational services.”
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