A school placed in special measures in summer is being transformed into an academy.

Battersea Park School, in Battersea Park Road, Battersea, will become a Harris Academy next September.

The move has caused upset within the school's management team, with school governors resigning over the decision.

The chair of governors has resigned, as well as Latchmere ward councillor, Councillor Tony Belton.

Headteacher Gale Keller will also retire in the new year, as well as a number of teachers who are leaving for new positions.

Coun Belton said he decided to quit when he was told he must vote for the school to become an academy.

He said: "I said you have got to be joking, no way am I going to vote the way someone has told me to vote. I am walking out.

"After Battersea Park School goes how many local authority schools are left in the borough? How can you have responsibility when you are not running the school?

"Under academies, local authority interest is being taken away from us."

He said during a meeting in November school governors were informed they will continue running the school until Harris Federation take over in September 2014.

Mr Keller, who has worked at the school for 13 years, said: "My own position is that I am 64 and a half years old.

"I have made a decision to leave Battersea, I feel it is the right time on the basis a new academy chain will come in and it will be a new direction."

A spokesperson for the Harris Federation said: "The Harris Federation is a not-for-profit charity with almost 25 years' experience of running schools in London.

"Many of our academies replaced struggling schools, which are now happy and highly successful with an average of nine applications for every place."

Government legislation makes it obligatory for all schools in special measures to become academies.

The school was seeking legal advice after it was marked as inadequate and made an official complaint to Ofsted.

Last year it was named as one of the worst performing in London, but this summer recorded a record 14 per cent increase in pupils achieving five A*-C grades.

 

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