PLANS to merge the sixth forms at Castle School and Marlwood have been announced.

The merger, which would see all AS and A-Level courses be based at the Gloucester Road site in Thornbury, come as the Castle School Education Trust (CSET) which runs both schools announced it has to save £500,000 a year.

For several years the two schools have shared sixth form courses in recent years, with students travelling between sites during their studies.

As well as the savings from operating out of one site, the trust has begun a consultation, with proposals having been put forward to make potential savings in staff, with voluntary redundancies one of the options presented.

Any possible changes, which would not come into action until September, are likely to affect leadership roles and support staff, with the trust saying teaching staff would be unaffected.

The cause for savings are put down to rising costs and a reduction in funding from government.

Staff were briefed on the consultation yesterday by CSET chief executive and new Castle School head teacher Will Roberts, with a letter having been sent home to parents today.

In the letter to parents from Mr Roberts, he said: “The financial position of Castle School Education Trust is currently secure, but we are having to take difficult decisions in order to maintain that position.

“Yesterday we initiated a consultation on staffing reductions, affecting some leadership and support staff posts at The Castle School and Marlwood School.

“This will be a challenging time for those colleagues who are directly affected, as well as for teachers who work alongside them.”

Explaining the tough choices ahead by outlining the national position, he added: “Schools throughout the country are having to make difficult decisions regarding their budgets.

“The income that we receive from the government for each student has reduced in recent years, especially for sixth form students.

“At the same time, our costs are rising significantly, for example through increased national insurance contributions, local government pension costs, the apprentice levy, and an additional charge for all schools in South Gloucestershire to repay a deficit in the council’s education budget.

“We had hoped that national fairer funding when introduced would relieve the mounting financial pressures, but the indicated increase for the Castle School is just 0.1 per cent, despite us being located in one of the worst-funded authorities in the country under the current arrangements.”