THE selection process is under way to choose teachers for the new £10 million York High School.

There will be about 105 teachers and additional non-teaching posts at the new 1,050-place "super school" for west York and all posts should be filled by February.

Staff at the two schools coming together to form York High, Lowfield and Oaklands in Acomb, have been asked to apply for the jobs and head teacher David Ellis said he hoped there would be no compulsory redundancies.

Currently there are more than 70 teaching staff at both schools, as well as additional non-teaching posts.

Mr Ellis who will be in charge of the new school, said: "There will be around 105 appointments made in total and we hope to avoid making any member of staff redundant against their will.

"Some colleagues are taking the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy and any appointments made over the last 12 months have been temporary.

"We are trying to make the process as open and transparent as possible."

So far, as well as Mr Ellis being appointed head master, three deputies have been chosen.

They are Gavin Cowley, David Hewitt and Christine Holbrey.

All three are current deputy heads at Oaklands and Lowfield.

The remainder of the staff will be appointed in stages, with teaching staff hopefully being appointed by Christmas and the remainder of the support staff by the end of February next year.

In August, The Press reported that some parents and teachers at Lowfield School feared a "takeover" when the new school comes into being.

At that time, Chris Wellburn, whose 15-year-old son, Tom, attends Lowfield, said: "The view of most Lowfield parents is that they have been taken over by Oaklands.

"I will want to see the Lowfield staff going forward into the new school, otherwise it will look like a complete takeover."

But Mr Ellis said: "As part of the agreement that has been made, staff who are working in the two schools will be considered first for jobs in the new school, both teaching and non-teaching staff.

"Clearly, I understand the sensitivities of colleagues in both schools who are looking for information about their future employment. That's something that is in hand and is being dealt with by the governors of the new school."

Both Oaklands and Lowfield schools are to be replaced by a new state-of-the-art building, on the Oaklands site, in 2007.

The Government is contributing £8 million towards the cost of modernising and extending the buildings on the Oaklands site, while City of York Council is putting forward the remaining £2 million. Building work on the new school is expected to begin in May. The school proposals were given the go-ahead earlier this year.

The need for the new school has been driven by a decline in pupil numbers.