HOVE Park School will not become an academy after a spectacular change of heart from headteacher Derek Trimmer.

Mr Trimmer, who had been the driving force behind the plans, sensationally urged governors to oppose the move at tonight’s crunch meeting.

He said it was not the right time to press forward with academy plans given the disruption it would cause.

In a statement released to teachers and The Argus prior to the vote, he said: “If we are going to help the city's children we have to have the city behind us and that means that we need to be mindful of the unrest and disruption that forging ahead with an academy conversion at this stage of our journey could cause.  

“We also need to be absolutely incisive in terms of separating politics from what is right educationally for our children and with recent events this line has become increasingly blurred.

“I believe that with the level of uncertainty that exists amongst members of our community and the resulting level of opposition that may harm the progress of the children in our school, the time is not right for driving through such a change.”

Mr Trimmer took over the struggling school in 2011 at a time when it was among the worst performing in Sussex.

In his three years he has guided Hove Park to record GCSE results and in the process seen the school named in the top 1% most improved in the country.

He was the driving the force behind the academy plans when they were unveiled in March this year.

However, his spectacular change convinced the 17 governors to throw out the proposal.

To see head teacher Derek Trimmer's full statement about the decision follow the link.