THE governors of a Basingstoke secondary school are consulting on it converting to an academy.

Parents of Costello Technology College have been asked for their views on the possible move, which would see the school in Crossborough Hill become an independent academy.

A paper to brief parents has been published and a working group set up to seek feedback from interested parties.

If the school decided to convert, it would no longer be under the control of the local education authority (LEA), Hampshire County Council.

The briefing paper said that at the moment, the LEA is given £3,635 from the Department for Education to fund each pupil, of which it is estimated that the council keeps £211 to fund central overhead costs. As an academy, the full £3,635 would be paid directly to the school.

The paper said: “On the surface, it seems the college would benefit. However, there are additional admin costs for the college and we would have to show a relative increase in funding to progress.”

Parents have been told that if the school converts, no large-scale changes to the curriculum are envisaged, but it would instead be adapted “in the way we feel is beneficial and will maintain our high standards”.

In the paper, the pros and cons of becoming an academy are listed. Referring to the possible positive side of converting, it said: “It (academy status) provides control of extra funding at a time when the college is going to experience serious cuts. Such cuts risk undermining our provision, morale and ethos.”

Losing the “security of being part of Hampshire County Council” was listed as a potential risk of becoming an academy.

However, the paper added: “Hampshire itself is having to change because of the cuts, so it is difficult to know what level of support would be there if we remained an LEA maintained school, especially as more schools convert.”

A letter was sent to parents last year from Julia Mortimore, headteacher, and Carol Bode, chair of governors, informing them of the consultation, and inviting them to a briefing session at the school.

An update from Mrs Mortimore in February said the school had received an Academy Order from the Department for Education, which she said was based on the school’s “good performance over the last three years and our ability to support other schools”.

She said that governors would continue to consult on a bid over the next three months.