A CONSULTATION could be about to start on whether the Whitby area should be served by just one secondary school.

North Yorkshire County Council will decide next week whether take the first steps on the proposal by giving people chance to have their say. The plan would see Eskdale College closed and Caedmon College enlarged.

They say that as the two schools have have effectively had a shared catchment area and served many of the same communities since 2015, the best option would be to have one single school.

Both colleges face financial challenges, and challenges around maintaining and improving the quality of educational provision but are ambitious for their students, the council's spokesmen add, and both schools have now agreed to support the merger proposals.