PLANS by two schools to federate are to go ahead in September after winning approval from governors.

Durham Community Business College, in Ushaw Moor - formerly Deerness Valley Comprehensive - and Fyndoune Community College, in Sacriston, are joining forces, but will keep their separate identities. It will be run by one headteacher and one governing body. Students will be able to take courses on one or both sites, community education programmes will be extended, and vocational courses developed.

Anne Lakey, head of Durham Community Business College, will become acting joint headteacher of both schools on the retirement at Easter of Fyndoune headteacher Peter Sykes.

She said: "I am delighted that there has been such widespread support for the proposal. Our two schools have been working together extremely successfully over the past two years with really positive outcomes for our students. By coming together to form a federation, our aim is to protect and preserve the small school environments at both colleges.

"As two specialist colleges, each keeping its own different character but operating as a federation, we will be able to offer the broadest possible range of GCSE courses for our students and build on the record results which both colleges achieved in 2005.

"We shall now be able to move forward together to place our colleges at the very forefront of innovation in County Durham."

Neil Foster, Durham County Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "We congratulate the governing bodies of both two schools for their vision and collaboration."