THREE east Durham village schools look likely to be merged.

Durham County Council chiefs will be recommending the proposal to create a £5.6m school at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

It follows the completion of an extensive review of education provision in the former mining community of Murton.

Growing surplus places and the condition and location of Murton Nursery, Murton Primary and Murton Jubilee Primary schools had prompted the Local Education Authority (LEA) to look into the possible reorganisation of education in the village.

Since the beginning of the year, staff and parents of each of the schools have been consulted over the options facing the LEA.

As a result, a joint report has now been drawn up by the county's director of education, Keith Mitchell and deputy chief executive Andrew North.

The document highlights some of the existing problems in the schools and favours one of four possible options.

The report describes Murton Primary School as a two storey building with very poor access and surplus places currently running at 40 per cent and likely to rise to 53.8 per cent by 2007.

But the school has achieved better than national average results over the past three years.

Although numbers have fallen only slightly at Murton Jubilee Primary they are not an issue says the report which also reveals it has achieved good academic results.

The village's nursery school, which has some surplus places, is popular and well thought of but is located on the edge of the village and is some distance from the primary schools.

The findings outline four possible options, from leaving the schools as they are to the preferred option of building a primary school in the village to take pupils from all three schools.

Although there has been calls for some assurances to be given within the proposal, staff and parents have already welcomed the idea.

If the plans are approved, the school could be built by September next year.