IT IS a radical move in the local education sector but it’s one that is set to transform the fortunes of a struggling Basingstoke school.

Stephen Sheedy, principal at Queen Mary’s College (QMC) and Anthony Bravo, principal at Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) have applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to form a trust that will run The Vyne Community School as a sponsored academy.

The move follows the school in Vyne Road, South View, being put in special measures in November 2010, after Ofsted graded it as “inadequate.”

If the application is accepted by the DfE, the school is set to open as an academy in September 2012, before which time a permanent headteacher will be appointed.

Mr Sheedy said an expression of interest was sent to the DfE last week, after the governors of both colleges agreed with the move. He said: “The primary reason for doing this is that we really do think that it’s desperately important that everyone has a good experience of education and they leave school having achieved everything that they are capable of achieving. They only get one shot at it.”

He believes that The Vyne will benefit from the two further education colleges’ resources and their own good practices.

He added: “The two colleges will establish a trust and appoint governors for the school. We have to do it in such a way that the interests of the school are not compromised by the interests of the college. We would hold the school to account for its improvement at the same time as giving it support.”

The move is one similar to that taken by Everest Community Academy, in Popley, last year. It joined an already established academy trust last year, which is now responsible for the school.

The difference this time is that BCoT and QMC are not already a trust, and they have applied to the DfE to form one to run the school.

If the academy trust application goes according to plan, it will mean that Hampshire County Council (HCC), as the Local Education Authority, will no longer be responsible for the school. Funds will instead come straight to the trust from the Government.

Mr Bravo said HCC, The Vyne’s governing body and the DFE were all “fully supportive of this idea.”

He added: “This unique initiative will keep the college (BCoT) at the heart of Basingstoke’s learning community, and, additionally, this is bound to increase the college’s profile with local schools. After considering all the pros and cons, our governors believe this is the right thing to do.”

Parents at The Vyne received a letter from Bruce Newlands, chair of governors on December 9 last year, informing them that governors had agreed to investigate academy status.

He said: “The future success and prosperity of The Vyne, in the mind of the DfE, rests in the school becoming a sponsored academy.”

His letter added: “The governing body is keen that should we go to academy status, we find a solution that takes into account the interests of the wider Basingstoke community who have links with education, and the best interests of The Vyne at heart.”

Krista Dawkins, who was appointed acting headteacher at The Vyne in January, said: “We think it’s a very positive move.

“It’s excellent that the local colleges want to have a say in a Basingstoke school and that they are working collaboratively.

“With the trust support, it will continue to go from strength to strength.

“The recent monitoring visits from Ofsted have all been very positive. We know that another visit from Ofsted is imminent, and we hope to come out of ‘special measures’ by April.”

She said the DfE wanted the school to become an academy, but because of its now improved results since the “inadequate” rating, it could carry on without going down this route alone.

However, she added: “This (trust bid) is seen as a move in the right direction.”

Mrs Dawkins said pupil numbers at the school had dropped from 650 to 580 since it was put in “special measures”, and added: “This school has a future so we are urging parents to come back to us.”

Councillor Roy Perry, executive lead member for children’s services at HCC, said the council is generally “neutral” with regards to schools becoming academies.

He added: “In some circumstances, that is the best route for the school to follow.

“If the children do well and achieve, and that can be done through the academy route, then we welcome it.

“We know that QMC and BCoT are successful, and can give a great deal of help to The Vyne,”

Cllr Perry said that academy trusts have “strong intervention powers” which result in schools being able to “turn around quickly.”