Parents of two city primaries are being consulted over a plan to link up with a rural school to form a single academy trust.

The governing bodies of Upton-based Mill View and Boughton Heath primary schools are proposing to join Kelsall Primary, which already enjoys academy status, to form Cheshire Academies Trust.

An academy is funded by the state but independent of local authority control and receives its funding direct from central government.

Governors of both Mill View and Boughton Heath body say they wish “to engage in consultation with a broad group of stakeholders” before making the final decision.

An almost identical letter to parents claims the advantage of being an academy means “more freedom about how they conduct themselves” including over the curriculum and the ability to undertake innovative projects. It also states that academies can set their own pay and conditions for staff.

Combining three schools into one will “further deepen our expertise” and “increase our purchasing power”, it is argued.

The letter adds: “We will collaborate on matters such as key specialisms, curriculum development and share resources and leadership practices for the benefit of all three schools.”

David Wearing, head of Kelsall Primary School, explained that the proposed academy came about because all three headteachers knew each other through the Cheshire Leadership and Teaching Alliance.

Headteacher of Kelsall Primary School David Wearing

He told The Chronicle: “They are going through their own consultations and it’s up to them to work out what the advantages and disadvantages are. We are very mindful that this is an open consultation and it’s for them to take their own decisions.

“Our decision was based on what freedoms we might have and the constraints we might have. It’s very much up to them to do what is right for them based on their own reasons.”

As an academy, Mr Wearing said his school had been able to apply directly to the Department for Education for funds which had paid for a new roof and a four-classroom extension.

However, he cautioned that the more schools became academies, the smaller the pot because everyone was “after the same funding”.