Plans to turn Shene School into an academy are being re-thought after links with the preferred sponsor were severed this week.

Richmond Council is currently in the process of turning three schools - Shene, Whitton and Hampton Community College - into academies, all-ability state schools supported by sponsors, but Councillor Serge Lourie, council leader, said today a decision had been made not to proceed with Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust (EACT) as the preferred sponsor for Shene.

In March it was revealed the council admitted it was rethinking whether to continue with EACT after a Government report exposed “significant concerns about the way the trust has been managed”.

Coun Lourie said a governors meeting was held at the Park Avenue school last night and the authority confirmed it was dropping EACT “in light of recent publicity”.

He said the council was looking for a new partner for the school and would be starting a process of discussions with stakeholders, including parents and governors at the school and nearby primary schools, to find out what they want.