COUNCILLORS in Watchet are being urged to back a call by parents to restructure the town’s education system which would involve building a new secondary school.

A petition containing 115 signatures in support of the campaign was presented to councillors this week.

West Somerset currently has a three-tier education model with a number of first and middle schools all feeding into Minehead’s West Somerset College.

But, parents say the model is outdated and much of the rest of Somerset has already switched to a first and secondary structure.

They said the change would create a more ‘clear and transparent’ schooling system and a more stable educational journey for students, with first schools focussing on SATs and the secondary school on GCSE results.

It would reduce disruptive transitions when pupils had to adjust to a new school, particularly for SEND students, and mean parents went through the school application and placement process fewer times.

A spokesperson said: “Funding can be more efficiently focussed into two larger school types instead of needing to be stretched into across three.

“These larger schools will be able to better utilise their buildings, resources, and specialised teachers to deliver more effectively and minimise waste.

“With a more common two-tier system, it would be easier for the schools to recruit teachers, with a larger and more competitive pool of candidates, potentially supporting a better quality of education from the schools.

“A two-tier system would support more families to have their children in one school location instead the currently three potentially.

“This commute and logistics issue also causes problems for the wider community, with the current system requiring a large number of buses and coaches, causing congestion and traffic on our roads.”

The parents also feared West Somerset College would become overstretched as more and more houses were built.