AN academy trust in York has agreed to sponsor York High School’s bid to join it after the school was put in special measures by Ofsted.

As The Press reported on Tuesday, the schools inspectorate has deemed York High in Acomb “inadequate” and as a result the school has gone into special measures and is required by law to become an academy.

The school has 747 pupils and the report’s findings follow disappointing GCSE exam results in 2015 and 2016.

York High approached the South Bank Academy Trust - which includes Millthorpe secondary and Knavesmire and Scarcroft primaries - about providing sponsorship as it converts to an academy and, after consulting the staff and local governing boards of its academies and City of York Council, the trust has agreed to the application.

The Trust has now applied to the Department for Education to act as a sponsor and a decision is expected before Easter.

Edwin Thomas, chairman of trustees at the Trust, said: “The South Bank Trust exists to provide an excellent education for all children in our community.

“We would like to support one of our local schools in difficulty, and we believe we have the capacity to do this.

York Press:

“There is a strong tradition of schools supporting each other in York, and we are in discussions with the Department for Education about how they will help us to return York High to being a good school as rapidly as possible.

“Millthorpe School, which has improved itself substantially in recent years, will be a key source of expertise in delivering school improvement.

“We are currently drawing up plans for this work, and we hope that all academies in the trust will benefit from meeting this shared challenge.”

York High head, David Ellis, who has been head at the school for ten years and retires in six months, said: “This will allow us to work closely with other schools within the trust to address the issues identified in the Ofsted report.

“I will keep our community informed about the progress of these discussions.”