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School academy headteacher to step down
THE headteacher of a troubled academy is to retire in the summer, the West End Extra can reveal.
Principal Alison Banks took the helm at Westminster Academy 16 months ago.
She has told teachers she is leaving to pursue her ambition of travelling around the world.
Ms Banks said: “I am 60 years old. My husband is 65. I am retiring as all women do at that age.”
But sources in the school are not convinced. They question the wisdom of appointing a headteacher who was planning to leave after two years.
An insider said: “From an ethical point of view, I would certainly not apply for a job knowing that I was going to be retiring in a couple of years.”
Ms Banks’s retirement has been compared with the shock departure of Barbi Goulding from Paddington Academy last June. She resigned after one year in charge citing health reasons following a turbulent year that tested the council’s academy programme.
Both academies replaced North Westminster Community School following a wave of protest from parents and staff.
The move sparked an exodus of teachers leaving in protest at the academy system – which takes schools out of the control of the local authority.
Both schools have been blighted by building works fiascos and are lagging behind Westminster’s community schools Quintin Kynaston and Pimlico.
Leader of the opposition Labour group Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg said: “Every week brings news of another setback for secondary education in Westminster.
“The legacy of all the long years of education mismanagement is taking its toll on our schools.” |
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