Michael Gove is bullying us into becoming an academy, says head

The headteacher of a school at the centre of a dispute over becoming an academy said he was being bullied into giving up control.

Brian Lloyd, head of Kelsey Park sports college in Bromley, said his school was the subject of a hostile takeover supported by the Government.

Hundreds of parents are campaigning for the all-boys school to be taken out of local authority control and turned into an academy run by the Harris Federation.

The move is supported by Education Secretary Michael Gove but the Tory-run council does not want to give up control of the school and neither does Mr Lloyd.

He said his school has been denigrated during the campaign, which he said is designed to be a "quick win" for Mr Gove. Mr Lloyd said: "The way in which this is being dealt with is very hostile. I would like parents to trust me and give me a chance. I have 1,000 boys in my school and nobody has complained to me about the way it is being run."

The school was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted but Mr Lloyd is confident the next report will be better. The percentage of pupils gaining five A* to C GCSE grades, including English and maths, rose from 18 to 46 per cent this year.

He added: "We are a happy, successful, good school and every year we get some outstanding grades. But we are getting to the stage where we feel we are being pushed into a corner because Gove wants us to be an academy."

The school has launched a consultation on its future after local parents got up a petition asking the Harris Federation to take control of the school. It is down to the governors to decide whether to turn it into an academy.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "The Harris Federation has an impressive track record on improvement and is clearly recognised locally as the sponsor that is best placed to support the school."