EDUCATION in the Dorchester area is set for a shake-up after three middle schools announced their conversion to academies.

Dorchester Middle School, St Mary’s Middle School in Puddletown and St Osmund’s in Dorchester have made a joint move to academy status following consultation with parents and staff.

The move comes after the Thomas Hardye School converted to an academy last August.

The three middle schools are all part of the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP) and it is hoped that the joint move to academy status will enable them to work even closer together.

St Mary’s Middle School headteacher Carl Winch said: “We had a meeting with the Thomas Hardye School last December and spoke to the head Mike Foley and decided that a move to academy status by the three middle schools would help support the DASP partnership by creating a sustainable model.

“We also thought that academy status would give the schools and the partnership more flexibility and autonomy.

“Although we have now converted to independent academies we have gone through the journey together and we have been working very closely together.”

Dorchester Middle School head Paul Chadwick said the three schools were already realising the benefits of the joint move to academy status.

He said: “Already, one of the benefits is that we are working closer now than we have ever worked before.”

Mr Chadwick added: “All decisions are made with the benefit of the children in mind.”

Mr Winch said that the conversion of the three schools doubled the number of academies in Dorset from three to six.

All three schools will retain the same name and Mr Chadwick said that they would continue to work with Dorset County Council in a number of areas.

Headteacher at St Osmund’s Ron Jenkinson said that, although the three schools had gone through the conversion to academy status together, each of them individually had decided that the move was the best for its pupils.

He said: “Obviously there is a lot of change in education at the moment and it is not always easy to work out what’s going to be best.

“But we have taken a very long, close, hard look at it and – working with the governors and parents – have made a decision that we feel is going to create the most opportunities for our young people.”