THE long-held dream of a single-site primary school for Marlborough will finally become a reality next year.

The long-running bid to amalgamate St Peter’s and St Mary’s Schools has now been approved by Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for children’s services Laura Mayes.

Currently children attend St Mary’s Infant School in George Lane until they are seven and then move up to St Peter’s Junior School in The Parade.

Under the proposal both schools would close on August 31, 2016. If planning permission is granted, a new school with 14 classrooms and a resource centre will be built on land next to St Mary’s and will open at the start of September 2016.

The school will be big enough for 420 pupils including 20 spaces for disabled children.

When the new building is completed the infants school will be demolished and the junior premises will be sold off.

The move has been welcomed by both schools.

Caroline Spindlow, headteacher at St Peter’s, said: “We are very excited. It’s really good news and we are delighted that the project is moving forward.”

Anne Schwodler, headteacher at St Mary’s, said: “Of course we are all delighted that the amalgamation has been approved and are looking forward to working on the new build.”

Planning permission had previously been granted for the new build before the coalition government pulled the plug because of budgeting problems.

The new building will be funded by The Education Funding Agency through its Priority Schools Building Programme. The opening of the new primary school, which will be a Church of England Voluntary Controlled School, has been supported by the Diocesan Board of Education.

Laura Mayes, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “I’m delighted for staff and pupils who will soon have a newly built primary school with modern facilities thanks to our successful bid for government funding.

“We’re pleased that parents have been in favour of the amalgamation of the two schools and this is the first step in an exciting journey.”