A PLAN to merge two schools is set to spark more parent protests on Portland.

Education chiefs have drawn up proposals to amalgamate St George's Infants and Tophill Junior schools.

And governors have already met to discuss the controversial plans contained in a document leaked to the Dorset Echo.

They have asked county education officers to provide them with more information following proposals to merge the schools in a cost-cutting exercise.

The bombshell comes barely a year after parents of children at the island's Grove County Infants School fought tooth and nail to successfully oppose county plans to combine it with St George's.

They argued that the Grove was the heart of the community and parent-power won the day when councillors heeded their plea.

Now it has emerged that St George's is at the centre of more merger talks, this time with Tophill, after the secret report containing details of education officers' advice to governors was leaked to the Dorset Echo by a concerned parent who wishes to remain anonymous.

The parent said: "Surely after the Grove fiasco Portland has had enough interference from on high on what amounts to gain and not children's welfare and needs."

Another parent said: "Unfortunately we don't want to come forward until we have an action plan because we don't want to jeopardise our children's places.

"But we will not take this lying down and you can be sure we will fight the same way the parents from the Grove School did."

The leaked report to governors said: "Financially the single school is more viable than two separate smaller schools and also offers the opportunity for some savings. This would also release the existing permanent 'nursery' block for an alternative use.

"A new head will need to be appointed to the existing junior school for September 2002 and the opportunity for amalgamation of the schools should be fully explored."

Figures in the report revealed that both Tophill and St George's were predicted to show a fall in pupil numbers over the next few years.

Tophill numbers could drop from 332 in 2001 to only 274 by 2008 while St George's could see the number of pupils drop from 167 in 2001 to just 120 by 2005.

And the county education authority feels these falls could be accompanied by 'significant' staff redundancies.

The report added that Tophill has nine permanent class bases and three very old temporary classrooms which are at the end of their life, as well as a temporary toilet unit.

St George's, said the report, has six permanent class bases, a detached nursery unit and a double temporary classroom unit as well as a separate temporary toilet block.

The authority felt that some of the temporary buildings should be removed over the next few years and accommodate all future pupil numbers in the permanent buildings.

This would require parts of the joint site to be redesigned or all the buildings to be managed under one management structure, said the authority.

Margaret Leicester, St George's chairman of governors, today issued a joint statement on behalf of the governors at both schools.

She said: "The governors of St George's Infants School and Tophill Junior School recently met with officers of the county council's Education Section's Strategy Planning Department to discuss possible amalgamation of both schools with a view to making substantial savings to the county education budget.

"Discussions are at a very early stage and no detailed information is as yet available. Therefore, no decisions of any kind have been made.

"We have asked education officers for more information about the idea and both governing bodies are due to meet to discuss their findings in October."

And Tophill Chairman of Governors Mac Scard said: "What we are going to do is to send a letter out to all parents explaining what is going on. Beyond that we have no comment to make."

Senior education officer Keith Armstead said that among information the governors wanted for their October meeting was a re-examination of pupil numbers and what impact that might have on school staffing, budgets and accommodation so that the schools could make decisions based on accurate information and comparisons of the various options.