How depressing it must be for the parents and students of PACA to hear that their headteacher, James Fox, is being investigated.

Those of us campaigning hard to stop Hove Park school going down the same deregulated academy route do so knowing that this is exactly the kind of ‘freedom’ that comes with opting out of local authority accountability that we don’t want for our school.

Sadly, academies are not about serving the interests of local children, regardless of background or ability, they are about the mirage of league table performance at the expense of a fair, comprehensive system that benefits all children, including the ones that don’t look good on paper.

Take heed Hove Park governors when you vote on academy status on Monday – the PACA school community deserves better than this, and so do we.

J. Traynor, Poynter Road, Hove