Two independent schools in the West Midlands have announced plans to merge.
From September 2020, Solihull School and Saint Martin’s School will become a combined coeducational day school on two campuses, catering for pupils aged 3-18.
The current headmaster of Solihull School, David EJJ Lloyd, will become first head of the enlarged institution.
“We are delighted to be merging with Saint Martin’s,” he said. “It provides a significant opportunity for pupils and staff of the new combined school. The schools are a good fit in terms of our shared ethos and approach to the education of young people.”
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The merger will create a larger Solihull School, with juniors and infants to be taught on the Saint Martin’s campus, and senior and sixth form pupils using the Warwick Road campus. Lessons will continue to be held in small classes.
The school will have an enlarged governing body, comprising representatives from both Solihull and Saint Martin’s, to come into effect in January.
With the merger conditional upon the completion of a number of legal matters, a transitional steering group will include governors and senior leaders of both schools.
“The new school will continue to provide a stimulating environment,” said head of Saint Martin’s, Nicola Smillie, “in which pupils want to learn through excellent teaching; where they take responsibility for their own learning, both in the classroom and outside of it; and achieve the very best results of which they are capable, in the spirit of Saint Martin’s’ founding principles.”
