BEBINGTON High Sports College has become the third school in Wirral to join the Co-op Academies Trust.

The Co-op Academy Bebington as it will now be known follows  Woodslee and the Portland school in Birkenhead, which both joined the trust at the end of last year.

Bebington was judged "inadequate" by Ofsted in 2016 under previous leadership but in 2017 inspectors recognised the rapid improvement the school had made.

The Co-op said it is delighted to be supporting Bebington.

Since the organisation announced last year that it was putting a further £3.6m into its academies programme to "kick-start the next growth phase," eight new academies including the three from Wirral have joined the trust bringing the number under its guidance to 20..

A spokesman said the Co-op academies inspected by Ofsted 'have seen significant improvement underlining the success the Trust has had in implementing ambitious turnaround plans for the schools it has adopted."

Bebington High headteacher Catherine Kelly said: "We're delighted to be joining the trust.

"It has a proven track record of supporting and improving schools and so everyone is really excited about the future."

The trust divides its academies - which are mainly in economically deprived areas - into three hubs: Greater Manchester; West Yorkshire and Merseyside and North Staffordshire.