THE merger of two of the oldest and most respected independent schools in Worcester will create a flagship school with unrivalled facilities, its headteacher has said.

We exclusively revealed yesterday how rumours were rife in the city the Royal Grammar School Worcester and Alice Ottley School - in the citys Upper Tything - will join to form a new, enlarged school with almost 1,500 pupils.

This will include pupils from their respective junior schools - The Grange in Claines and Springfield in Britannia Square.

Now the news has been confirmed in letters sent out to parents of pupils at both schools following recent meetings of the governing bodies to look at outline proposals.

The new school, which will be based on the existing campuses, will be called The Royal Grammar School Worcester and The Alice Ottley School.

Governors from both schools have welcomed the union of two historic and nationally recognised standard bearers for education.

The head of the new school will be RGS Worcesters current headmaster 45-year-old Andy Rattue who, in an exclusive interview yesterday with the Worcester News, said he was confident the news would be well-received.

He added that it would offer boys and girls the broadest possible academic, cultural, sporting and social opportunities in a co-educational environment.

The RGS had the lowest fees for the school of its type in Worcestershire and Mr Rattue said he did not expect considerable rises as a result.

There are expected to be minimal staff cuts which Mr Rattue said were needed at Alice Ottley anyway to bring the pupil-staff ratio in line with RGS.

The issue of whether some single-sex lessons will remain is set to be discussed with parents.

Mr Rattue added the merger was being done to best serve pupils, parents and staff and would help build on existing strengths and provide a first rate education, giving them a chance to re-examine the curriculum.

He said: This is a logical progression for two neighbouring schools, each of which has a proud history and strong record of success, having stood side by side over the years.

The merger will create a flagship school with unrivalled facilities less than a mile from the centre of Worcester. Our intention is to ensure the merged school is the school of first choice for boys, girls and parents in Worcestershire.

Were a forward-looking community and Im hopeful people will continue to support our friendly and unpretentious style.

Were keen to emphasise were still an organisation which regards pupils as people and well continue to put an enormous effort into the pastoral care of both girls and boys here.

The two schools stand side by side in The Upper Tything, close to Worcester city centre. From September 2007, pupils will benefit from one, enlarged site utilising all the current buildings on a combined site in excess of 20 acres.

Mr Rattue said a space audit would be conducted to take stock of what facilities they had and that there would be some changes of use of buildings. He did not rule out additional building work.

He was keen to point out the RGSs reputation as having one of the top design technology departments in the country and outstanding cricket achievements alongside Alice Ottleys national reputation for its textiles department and achievements in gymnastics and trampolining.

The head of The Alice Ottley School, Morag Chapman, who joined in 1999, will help see through the merger of the two schools before leaving in July next year.

She said: What were doing is creating a new school capable of meeting the most demanding needs of the parents and pupils of our time, while preserving the heritage and excellence of all thats gone before.

The move will lead to increased opportunities for girls and boys in both schools C and the combined schools as a whole. Both schools strive for the highest academic standards and the merger will present even greater opportunities.

The chairmen of the governing bodies have now organised a series of parent forums in the New Year to answer questions.

The chairman of the governors of the new school will be Dr Bob Ingles, with Henry Briggs as vice-chairman.

Dr Ingles said: Both sets of governors feel the union of two such historic and nationally-recognised schools means that we will be able to offer the very best in terms of education and facilities.

Alice Ottley can be proud its been the standard bearer for girls education for more than a century.

However, like many other schools and the women-only colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, we must respond to changing times.

RGS became a co-educational school five years ago and the union of the two schools will provide genuine equality of opportunity for girls and boys within the same organisation.