Two schools in Harrow will unite to offer education to a wider range of students in the area.

John Lyon School and Quainton Hall School are joining forces to become a single school.

This comes after John Lyon announced it would be teaching girls for the first time in its history.

Quainton Hall, which is 120-years-old and John Lyon, which is 144-years-old will offer education to 800 students in Harrow and the surrounding areas and teach boys and girls aged from two-and-a-half to 18.

Both schools have received 'excellent' school inspections and will continue to operate on both sites.

John Lyon head, Miss Katherine Haynes said: "Bringing together two highly successful schools to create a single institution focused on delivering a strong and broad education to local children is a great success story and a hugely exciting point in our combined histories."

The move to unite the schools was led by Anglican church, The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, which has run Quainton Hall for the past 75 years. The shrine, based in north Norfolk, approached the school believing a partnership with another school would be in the best interest of Quainton Hall.

Quainton Hall headmaster, Mr Simon Ford said: "This amalgamation cements what has been a hugely successful period in the recent history of the school.

"In the past six years, the school has increased its numbers by over a third, as its excellent academic reputation and strong focus on pastoral care have continued to go from strength to strength."