A REDUNDANT first school in Belton is to be used as a base for extended services currently operating from Oriel High School in Gorleston. Waveney First School, in Bell Lane, became redundant after the first and middle schools merged as a primary as part of a county-wide re-organisation of the schools system.

A REDUNDANT first school in Belton is to be used as a base for extended services currently operating from Oriel High School in Gorleston.

Waveney First School, in Bell Lane, became redundant after the first and middle schools merged as a primary as part of a county-wide re-organisation of the schools system.

The future use of the site had become a hot topic in the village with rumours flying round that it could be a drug rehabilitation centre. However, a public meeting in June cleared the air with villagers when they discovered that the extended school service, based at Oriel High, wanted to use the school for its activities.

And Norfolk County Council, which owns the site, has agreed that the site can be used for this purpose in the interim period.

The local church is also using the site for its activities.

Long term proposals for the site also include a new surgery. Millwood surgery, which is currently situated at St John's Road in the village, is interested in buying a piece of land for a new medical centre for Belton. It is also hoped the site can be retained for community use by groups such as the Brownies and St John's Ambulance Cadets.

Members of Yarmouth's area committee were updated on the reorganisation by schools development officer Alison Cunningham.

She said the project in the Yarmouth Borough was pretty much complete and that all children would now transfer to high school from the age of 11. Mrs Cunningham added that the county council had agreed to fund the remaining building work at Cobholm Primary School, which had opted out of the private finance initiative to fund the re-organisation.

She also revealed that Norfolk County Council was still experiencing problems recruiting headteachers for Peterhouse Primary School in Gorleston and Greenacre Primary School in Yarmouth.

She said: “Recruitment of headteachers is a problem nationally. We are advertising and looking for serving headteachers who have experience of bringing schools together.”