Morrison’s Academy in Crieff and Beaconhurst School in Bridge of Allan are to create one independent school from the beginning of the 2018/2019 school year.
Morrison’s will welcome 122 students from Beaconhurst when the Stirlingshire school shuts due to a decline in senior pupil numbers.
It means parents and students from Beaconhurst could be forced into a 40-mile round trip from their old building to their new facilities.
Neither the nursery or junior schools in Crieff and Bridge of Allan will be affected by the changes.
Staff at Beaconhurst have been given no guarantees about their positions.
Those affected will be given an opportunity to apply for new jobs but redundancies are expected.
It is understood this will not impact the teaching staff at Morrison’s Academy.
Improvements will be made to the facilities in Crieff to accommodate the new arrivals.
Resources available at the senior and junior school will be improved, as well as an increase in the choice of subjects offered.
Landel Johnston, chairman of the board of governors at Morrison’s Academy, said: “This decision will create a substantial and wide-ranging independent school for the whole region.
“Once the idea became a possibility, there was a real excitement about what a larger school could mean.”
Transition support will be offered to parents and pupils from Beaconhurst to help with the process.
With the senior school closing, part of the Bridge of Allan campus is expected to be sold.
Outstanding funds will be passed on to the nursery and junior school, as well as developments to outdoor education at Morrison’s Academy.
Chairman of the board of governors at Beaconhurst School, Tom Preston, said: “It is no secret that the affordability of private education in Scotland has been increasingly problematic for families and schools alike.
“While the Beaconhurst board has explored a variety of alternative options to joining forces with Morrison’s Academy, we unanimously agreed this was the option with the greatest potential.
“However, this is also a very difficult and uncertain time for our senior school staff as we go through the process of establishing how the transfer of pupils to Morrison’s Academy will affect them.
“We will be giving them as much support as we can and we are committed to keeping redundancies to a minimum.
“While we fully appreciate and acknowledge that moving schools is often difficult for pupils, our first priority was to safeguard their long-term future.
“We will be doing all we can to support each and every pupil moving to a new school location and will not rest until they are all ready for the new school term in August.”
