CROWCOMBE and Stogumber First Schools were in celebratory mood this week after winning the go- ahead to adopt primary status. The bid to take children to the age of 11 and affiliate with Kingsmead Community School in Wiveliscombe had won the overwhelming support of parents, staff and governors. And the Somerset School Organisation Committee, which has to agree any changes in the delivery of education in the county, gave its backing to the move at a meeting on Wednesday. However, the decision failed to find favour with Danesfield Community Middle School, which currently counts both Crowcombe and Stogumber among its feeder schools. Its governors maintained it would worsen the already falling pupil numbers at Danesfield and mean a loss of money in pupil funding. In 2006 a total of five pupils from the two federated first schools transferred to Danesfield, with six the previous year. Anthea Deane, headteacher of both Crowcombe and Stogumber, told the Free Press after the committee's decision that to say she was delighted was an understatement. "We are absolutely thrilled, over the moon," she said. "This has been roundly supported by the parents who are wildly keen on the switch to primary. "I was pleased and proud that so many came to the committee meeting to demonstrate their support. "We are very, very pleased with the decision and we believe it will bring huge advantages for both schools." Crowcombe currently has 38 pupils on roll, with numbers predicted to rise to 53 when the transition to primary takes effect in 2008. Stogumber will see an increase from 19 to 27 and will be able to take a maximum of 48, with Stogumber's ceiling set at 60. Mrs Deane said the main benefits of primary status would be the strengthening of the curriculum by being able to cover the whole of Key Stage Two, which would lead to better standards and better use of the available resources. She said the link with Kingsmead - the nearest 11 - 16 secondary school - was to be welcomed. The committee was told that the governors at Crowcombe and Stogumber believed the impact on Danesfield would be marginal and the West Somerset Community College, to which Danesfield pupils transfer at 13, had felt the numbers involved were so small it would not be affected by the change. The primary bid followed an all encompassing review of education provision in West Somerset by Somerset County Council, which was prompted by falling school rolls. It concluded the existing three-tier system of education should remain but called for more federation of schools, particularly the smaller ones, and closer links between first and middle schools.
