THE headteacher of a Worcester girls' school has supported the city's Royal Grammar School's planned merger with the neighbouring Alice Ottley School.

We reported on Friday the announcement of the merger between the two schools in Upper Tything, Barbourne.

The move is set to take place in time for the next academic year in September, 2007 and the new school is set to be called The Royal Grammar School Worcester and The Alice Ottley School.

Now Susan Cookson, headteacher of St Mary's Convent School in the city's Battenhall Avenue has said it wishes RGS every success in its expansion of co-education.

She added: "We are, however sorry to see the choice of girls-only education in the city narrowed by the Alice Ottley School being subsumed into the larger, neighbouring once-boy's school.

"There is no intention, however, of St Mary's abandoning girls-only education and we will not be extending our co-educational infant department into the senior school.

"Senior girls have very different needs to senior boys and our excellent examination results (80 per cent of the examination cohort last summer achieved 10 GCSEs or more) are testimony to our understanding of girls, our individualised, caring approach, small class sizes and to the high-calibre teachers that we attract. Our outstanding value-added examination performance and academic achievement put us among the top schools nationally."