TROUBLED Chantry Junior School has lost its third headteacher in four years after a savage Ofsted report.George Stevens quit over the Christmas holidays after government inspectors criticised his leadership and slammed pupil attainment.
TROUBLED Chantry Junior School has lost its third headteacher in four years after a savage Ofsted report.
George Stevens quit over the Christmas holidays after government inspectors criticised his leadership and slammed pupil attainment.
A Suffolk County Council spokeswoman refused to give details about Mr Stevens' decision, but confirmed a headteacher had been brought in from another school.
And she revealed proposals to merge Chantry Junior with its more successful infant counterpart as part of a possible action plan to rescue the school from special measures.
Mr Stevens had been in the Aster Road hot-seat for around a year, having been appointed in September 2002, when Ofsted inspectors arrived the following year.
They found "unsatisfactory" leadership and management alongside equally "unsatisfactory" teaching.
Inspectors also concluded the school had declined since the last examination and that pupil achievement in many areas was well below what was expected.
Science and maths results placed in the school in the bottom five per cent in the country while English fared little better - achieving a "well below average" rating.
In contrast, the last inspection at Chantry Infants, which shares the Aster Road site, revealed a successful school with significant strengths.
Pupils there were found to have a good attitude to learning which left them making progress despite a sometimes difficult background.
But when inspectors visited the junior school in September they discovered an unsatisfactory attitude and poor behaviour.
The council spokeswoman said experienced head Paul Rooney had been drafted in from Causton Junior School in Felixstowe.
She said he would work with the school for the next few terms until consultation on the action plan had been completed with parents, staff and governors.
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