TWO north Ceredigion schools could agree to a formal partnership after working together since 2011.

Governors and the shared headteacher at Ysgol Gymunedol Penrhyncoch and Ysgol Gymunedol Penllwyn in Capel Bangor have been in talks with Ceredigion council over formalising a federation between the two schools that would see one governing body formed for both schools.

The council’s Cabinet will now decide whether to go out to a formal consultation on the proposal, that, if accepted, would come into place on 1 April, 2019.

A report to the council’s learning communities scrutiny committee by Meinir Ebbsworth, the council’s corporate lead officer for schools, said that formalising the federation would help the management of both schools, but would not lead to either school losing its own identify.

She said: “Both Penrhyncoch primary school and Penllwyn primary school have worked on a collaborative basis since 2011 and have shared a headteacher. The collaborative approach continues to impact positively on both schools and is fully supported by the local authority.

“During the last 12 months, the headteacher, governors and local authority have been working on seeking to establish a formal federation. A federation is a formal and legal agreement whereby more than one school share governance arrangements and have a single governing body.

“In this instance, a single governing body with a new composition would replace the two individual governing bodies."

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now