Bishop opens merged school.

Byline: BY GRAHAM DAVIES

A SCHOOL created by the merging of two Formby primaries opened yesterday as part of a major reorganisation of education in Sefton.

Trinity St Peters was formed when the town's Holy Trinity school was forced to link with St Peter's because dwindling pupil numbers were threatening it with closure.

The new 240-pupil school, which stands on the St Peter's site on Paradise Lane, was opened by the Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones.

At the ceremony, education and Liverpool Diocese officials said they hoped mergers would become a successful way of preserving Church of England schools as the borough faces more closures.

Bishop Jones said: "When the numbers are falling, as they are around the country, we have to regroup. We are taking the best of St Peter's and Holy Trinity and bringing them together.

"Obviously, it is difficult when a school closes. That is why this is so positive - it is a merger, not a closure. We are keeping the ethos of both schools.

"It is very important that church schools remain open, as parents want those values for their children. We are actually seeing an increase in the church's involvement in education. Across the diocese, we have as many children in church schools as adults in church on a Sunday. It is important thatinvolvement remains." After unveiling a plaque of thenew school name, the bishop toured the building, chatted to pupils and hung a cross in every classroom.

Five primary schools in Sefton were forced to close in July because of population decline.

Holy Trinity, which had around 60 pupils, was saved from closure after governors and council officials agreed in December to merge it with St Peter's, which contained 200 pupils.

An interim board of governors was formed. Mike Dutton, headteacher of St Peter's was named head of the new school after Holy Trinity head Peter Johnson retired in July.

Officials have applied to the Department for Education and Skills to rehouse the entire school in a pounds 3m building on the site, but are still waiting for approval.

Jon Richardson, director of education for the Liverpool Diocese, said: "We may not get approval this time around, but we may bid again, and eventually there will be something completely new on the site."

St Peter's school has a history stretching back to the 1850s, while Holy Trinity celebrated its centenary in 2001