Teachers at one of the borough’s highest-performing secondaries could walk out of classrooms in protest against a plan for the school’s future, it has emerged.

National Union of Teachers (NUT) members at Chestnut Grove School, in Balham, held a meeting last month during which the vast majority voted to ballot for strike action should governors press ahead with a proposal to turn the school into an academy.

At present, decision makers at the country’s first visual arts college are considering formally applying for academy status, which would see the school break free from local authority and national Government control.

Although headteacher Margaret Peacock stressed no decision had been made, teachers have expressed their fear and made clear their opposition to the plan.

A source within Wandsworth NUT told this newspaper: “Schools work best when they work with the local community, not when they are independent of it.

“We hope that the Chestnut Grove governors will have supported the staff and parents by deciding not to apply for academy status.

“However, if that is not the case we will have to consider our position, including whether to go ahead with a ballot for a strike to fight to keep the school within the local family of schools.

“This issue is too important, not just to our terms and conditions of employment, but to the education of young people in Wandsworth to allow a decision for academy status to go unchallenged.”

The source revealed, during the teachers’ meeting in November, 40 teachers voted on whether to ballot for strike action - with 34 pledging their support for the move, four saying no and two abstaining.

Chestnut Grove appears to be the closest secondary in the borough to becoming an academy - governors were due to meet last night to discuss the proposal. Southfields Community College, the other outstanding-rated secondary to show interest in the academy initiative, has not yet revealed whether it is actively pursuing the idea.

Although not rated outstanding by Ofsted inspectors, Graveney and Saint Cecilia’s are the only other secondaries listed on the Department for Education’s website as being interested in the academy route - but they are both further behind in the process.

In nearby Sutton, all 14 publicly funded secondary schools have expressed an interest in the academy process - prompting a huge backlash among parents and teachers.

Ms Peacock said she thought the governors would “fairly soon come to a decision” but said becoming an academy would only happen if it was “the best thing for our students”.

She said: “If we do decide to take that route we will certainly be giving all our staff some guarantees about their pay and conditions.

“There’s no reason why we should have an unhappy staff.”

A spokesman for Wandsworth Council said the decision was up to the school's governors, but pledged the authority would work “closely” with the school should it become an academy.

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