MERGER plans for two of Thanet's top performing secondary schools will offer students and staff a platform for greater success.

That is the message from Tony Hamson, head at The Hereson School in Broadstairs, and acting head teacher Colette Singleton at Ellington School for Girls.

The Kent County Council proposal is to relocate Hereson from its current location onto an expanded Ellington campus at Newlands Lane from September 2009.

The heads are keen to stress that the move is directly due to a drop in the number of children attending school through the falling birth rate – it is nothing to do with the quality of education on offer at either school. Academically there are few schools in east Kent that can match their performances.

At Ellington more than 50 per cent of girls left with five or more A*-C GCSE grades; 31 per cent of student reached this benchmark and achieved English and Maths passes at the higher level, which is now the figure that determines school position in the Government league tables.

Only one high school or wide ability school in Thanet performs better than this. Nationally, boys' performance is of concern but Hereson bucks the trend.

More than 32 per cent of boys achieved five or more A*-C GCSE passes with 20 per cent gaining the all-important Maths and English. This puts Hereson in the top half of similar ability schools in Thanet.

Both head teachers point to high expectations, experienced staff, outstanding resources, acclaimed pastoral care and praise from the Ofsted inspection teams.

They said a merger would be an extension of the partnership between the two schools that has existed for decades.

In a joint statement, Mr Hamson and Mrs Singleton said: "We see ourselves as big enough to offer a broad curriculum, yet small enough to provide the personalised care that makes our students feel safe and secure in their learning.

"Our coming together will bring a greater choice of academic and educational subjects and courses, modern state-of-the-art facilities at the recently opened £9million Ellington campus, single sex teaching in a mixed environment, and the benefits of two experienced and successful staffs coming together."