SILSDEN’s two schools have combined their colours to create a purple hue for their newly-merged uniform.

Children from the old Aire View Infants and Hothfield Juniors returned to their respective school buildings this month to find themselves part of the new Silsden Primary School.

Gone are the old red and blue uniforms, the colours mixed together to create a new uniform but still using the Silsden crest that adorned Hothfield’s old logo.

The combined school roll will continue to use the existing two Victorian buildings in the centre of Silsden before moving into a planned new campus in September 2019.

The existing heads, James Procter from Hothfield and Vicky Bottomley from Aire View, are running the merged school jointly as co-heads.

Mr Procter, speech on behalf of both heads, this week said: “The children are in sparkling new uniforms and they look fantastic.

“Because we both got good Ofsted reports in 2016, we’re saying ‘two good schools have combined to form a great school’.”

Meanwhile, work is being carried out by Bradford Council education chiefs on preparing for the construction of a replacement school campus in Silsden.

Mr Procter said: “Planning for the new build is well underway and everyone is hopeful that the children will start there in September 2019.

“Governors have been involved in the initial designs for the new build and this will be submitted shortly for planning permission.”

The new school will be on land on the north side of Silsden, above Silsden Park and Daisy Hill.

The site has two potential entrances and exits, from the Bolton Road side or from streets at Daisy Hill.

Cllr Adrian Naylor, who serves on both Bradford and Silsden councils, said: “Just before the summer break the school governors were given sight of some of the layouts for the school building, but nothing about the entry and exits.

“The idea at the moment is not to have a public exhibition of the plans, but to enter the planning process so people can make their comments at that time.”

Cllr Naylor said the positioning of the access roads would be influenced by the results of a traffic survey recently carried out by council highways engineers.

He said the survey was postponed until after traffic returned to normal in Keighley Road, where there had been traffic lights for many months while wall and bridge repairs were carried out.

Councillor Nell added: “It was unfortunate that the flood defence work delayed the traffic survey, but that was a sensible decision.”