PLANS to turn the Bay CE Primary School into a through school for students aged between four and 16 have been given the green light by the government.

Sandown Bay Academy will close on August 31 following approval by education ministers yesterday (February 21). The new school will then open on September 1.

The IW Council's cabinet member for children's services, Cllr Paul Brading, said: "I am absolutely delighted that, we have now received the final Ministerial approval so that we can create The Bay all-through school.

“I am assured that everything will be in place by September, for a smooth transition to begin this exciting journey for the all through school to be a flagship; providing the best education for our young people.

“We’ve worked closely with the Cornerstone Federation (the governing board of The Bay CE Primary School and Niton Primary School) and the Diocese in recent months to put in place firm building blocks that will ensure that young people have access to high quality education. A considerable amount of work has already taken place to shape the curriculum, staffing, and budget; and that will now be taken forward at pace.”

Executive Head Teacher at The Bay CE Primary School, Duncan Mills added, “This announcement gives my team the green light that we’ve been waiting for. We will now take forward our dialogue with the students, parents and staff at both schools. Our community deserves to have a school that we can all be proud of and my vision is to deliver the highest possible level of education for children from four through to age 16.”

The Island's MP, Bob Seely, said: "This ministerial approval is great news and a tremendous success for the Island and for education in the Bay area.

“Much hard work has taken place in the community, in the council, by councillors and by officers to get to this point and I thank them for all their efforts.

“This is certainly the outcome everyone wanted and it’s good the Department for Education listened to myself, the council and, most importantly, local people and gave the go-ahead.

“The hard work now begins to make sure this school becomes a centre of excellence"