A FAILING Wirral boys school could be set to merge with a girls school deemed better by Ofsted if town hall chiefs agree it is the best interests for its pupils.

Wirral’s ruling cabinet will be asked to approve starting a six week public consultation on the proposed amalgamation of Pensby High School for Boys and Pensby High School for Girls.

The plans would see the authority cease to maintain Pensby Boys and change the gender intake for Pensby Girls to create a single mixed-sex secondary school.

The schools have operated as one federation since 2010, sharing the same staffing structure and governors.

Both were inspected by Ofsted last year but while Pensby Girls was rated as “good”, Pensby Boys was graded “inadequate”.

It has since improved its Ofsted rating to “requires improvement” but still needs to work on the quality of teaching and leadership.

While the Department for Education expects schools graded as inadequate to convert to academies during the process of improvement, governors at Pensby Boys are confident their federation can provide the support its pupils needs.

In a letter to David Armstrong, head of universal services and assistant chief executive of Wirral Council, chair of governors Mary Draper said Pensby High Schools Federation governing body wishes to proceed to technically and formally merge the two schools.

She said: “The reasons for the decision are the impact the decrease in pupil numbers in each school is having on providing the broadest curriculum offer, the best teaching and learning and therefore outcomes for students.

“Numbers across both schools have fallen and will not increase to the pupil admission number of 150 for each school in the foreseeable future if at all.

“The current numbers in each school mean the schools on their present separate but adjacent sites are financially unsustainable.”

A report to tomorrow's meeting of Wirral’s cabinet asks councillors to give the go-ahead for a consultation on the merger, something council officers say “fits with the council’s strategy for school organisation”.

The report adds: “While hard federation has already delivered many benefits, amalgamation will bring additional organisation and educational advantages, for example, a cost effective and more easily managed curriculum, staff retention and recruitment opportunities, economies of scale and savings on planning and administrative time.

“It is considered that the amalgamation of the two schools will provide a more effective framework to build on the strong foundations already established through the federation.”