TWO neighbouring schools, set to merge as a single primary in September, have shut their doors as single entities for the last time after being separate for more than 100 years.

Gorse Hill Infant School and Gorse Hill Junior School, both in Avening Street, already share an executive headteacher, Sue Kershaw, and will become Gorse Hill School when they re-open in the autumn.

The plans to merge came about because the schools are based on the same site and the headteacher of the junior school, Richard Jackson, has retired.

Mrs Kershaw said: “I have been very privileged this last year to be executive head of both schools and there’s so much tradition and so much history at both schools.

“And whenever I say I’m head of Gorse Hill, people say ‘Oh, I went there’ or ‘My mum went there’.

“The children are as excited as we are, already our older ones are saying ‘Can we go and help with the little ones’ and ‘Can we go and do these games with them’.”

The infant school was opened in the 1870s and the junior school was opened next door in 1892, but they have always been run separately.

Before closing for the last time on Wednesday, there were 180 infants, plus an additional 112 nursery children, and about 220 juniors.

To mark the closure, pupils, staff and parents gathered for an outdoors assembly, which included a performance of African drumming by Year 5 and singing by Year 6.

Under the project, supported by both boards of governors, the schools will become a new community primary school with spaces for 420 children.

Swindon Council held a six week consultation in September to seek the views of parents, teachers and staff at the two schools, and the responses were overwhelmingly in favour of the merger. No staff will be made redundant.

Work started in May to extensively remodel and refurbish the two buildings ahead of the new school officially coming into existence on September 1 and opening its doors on September 5.

A new joint logo has been designed, and pupils will wear a new royal blue sweatshirt.

Staff hope to hold an official open day in October, which would include an exhibition on the histories of the schools. Teachers want to contact the oldest former pupils still living in Swindon to involve them in the opening. Former pupils can call the school on 01793 523800.