FOUR schools in Newport could merge into two new primaries by September.

St Julians Infants and Juniors would become one school under the council plan, as would Lliswerry Infant and Junior Schools.

All four individual schools will be replaced with two new community schools.

Newport council says the change will be more cost-effective, bring educational benefits and lessen pupils anxiety about starting a new school.

But while one of these communities is positive about the move, the other has concerns.

Consultation on the changes began last summer and the city council said there was a good attendance at all the meetings held.

However, while the Lliswerry community supports the amalgamation and wants to move ahead with the process as soon as possible, many in St Julians have voiced opposition to the move.

Jayne Drew, chairman of governors at St Julians Infant school wrote to the council raising converns that the combined pupil numbers at the school will be too great for one school.

A parent of pupils who had attended both schools also wrote with similar worries.

Ward councillors Hugh Clark and Jeff Evans also commented in a council report that no steps had been taken to address the issue of money needed to make the three existing school buildings suitable for a unified site.

But in Lliswerry, all four ward councillors expressed support for the plans.

At this site it is planned to link the two separate school buildings by creating a link corridor between the two.

At both schools it is hoped many of the staff jobs at both schools can be ringfenced, but the headteacher and deputy headteacher posts will have to be readvertised once the new schools are set up.

She added that the community was against the amalgamation and stressed that both the junior and infant schools currently achieve high standards, creating no need for the move.

The official statutory notices were printed in yesterday's Argus by the city council.

These are just the latest mergers planned by the council, which ultimately wants all the single infant and junior schools in the city to merge into primaries.