Two of the oldest and most respected independent schools in Worcestershire are to merge to form a combined flagship school.

The Royal Grammar School and The Alice Ottley School, both in Worcester, will come together to form a new, enlarged school when the merger is complete in September 2007.

The new school 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 Andy Rattue, who is currently headmaster of RGS Worcester. He said the newly-formed school would offer boys and girls the broadest possible academic, cultural, sporting and social opportunities in a co-educational environment.

The two schools stand next to each other at Upper Tything, close to Worcester's city centre. From next September, pupils will benefit from one, enlarged site utilising all the current buildings on a combined plot in excess of 20 acres.

Planned and new facilities will be introduced to provide one of the best educational facilities in the county.

Mr Rattue said the amalgamation of the two schools would help build on existing strengths and provide a truly first rate education. He said the move had the full backing of governors of both existing schools and was being done to best serve pupils, parents and staff.

Proud

"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," he said.

"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.

"We are a forward looking community and I am hopeful that people will continue to support our friendly and unpretentious style."

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

She said: "What we are 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 that has gone before."

The chairmen of the governing bodies of the existing schools have written to parents to explain the merger, and have 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 that it has 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."