About half of the primary schools on the Isle of Wight are set to shut down as part of a major restructure of education.

The Isle of Wight

The overhaul is being proposed by Isle of Wight Council in a bid to improve poor results across the island's schools as well as reduce the number of school sites.

Despite having a population of just 130,000 the island has 42 primary schools, some of which have less than 30 pupils. This has left the council with rising costs as it tries to maintain sites.

A consultation will be launched later this month and residents will be asked to choose from three options. Two include proposals to bring in a minimum school size of either one or two classes per year group. The third includes plans for a three-tiered structure: primary schools for four- to nine-year-olds; junior high schools for nine- to 14-year-olds; and learning centres for 14- to 19-year-olds.

Isle of Wight director of children's services Steve Beynon said under all three options about half the island's primary schools will close. He said: "It is just not sustainable to have this amount of sites."

He added there were no plans to merge schools or create split site schools.

Existing sites not used for the new schools may be used for other community purposes, and Beynon said that children's centres are one option likely to be considered for some. In some cases new primary school sites will have to be built and a bid for funding through the Primary Capital Programme is set to be made this summer. Full details of plans for each school are due to be unveiled this week.

Beynon said the majority of primary school teachers and other front line staff would be redeployed either in the new schools or other education roles. Headteachers would be expected to reapply for the top roles across the new schools.

"We are obliged to ensure we get the best people in senior roles and a competition for those will take place," he added.

Cabinet member for children and young people Alan Wells emphasised that a driving factor in the proposals is the need to improve performance.

Latest key stage 2 results saw the island drop into the bottom quarter of the country.