An acting head has been appointed at a struggling city secondary school after the headteacher was signed off on long-term sick leave.

Huxely Knox-Macauley, one of the deputies at Hove Park School, will take over until Tim Barclay is able to return.

In a letter sent to parents, Mr Knox-Macauley said the headteacher was not expected back in the "foreseeable future".

Mr Barclay was signed off for health reasons during the summer term this year.

He had tried to make a partial return in September but will now go back onto sick leave.

The school, which has campuses in Hangleton Way and Nevill Road, Hove, has endured a tough few months.

Its GCSE results plummeted in the summer, dropping it into the Government's National Challenge for struggling school, when only 26% of pupils got five or more C grades, including English and maths, down from 37% last year.

Then last week one pupil stabbed another with a pair of scissors, leaving him needing hospital treatment.

In his letter Mr Knox-Macauley issued reassurances to parents. He said the stabbing was an isolated incident which had been dealt with and the extra measures were being employed to improve results.

He added grades were predicted to increase.

He said: "All the information we have on students currently in Year 11, including external GCSE module exam results, indicates that they are on course for a successful set of exam results.

"We are not complacent and are looking for all students to achieve to the best of their ability and are using the additional funding to reduce class sizes and offer targeted specialist tuition."