DARTMOUTH Academy is facing upheaval after its board of governors has been suddenly stood down following a snap Ofsted inspection.

The management of the school has been placed in the hands of a new interim advisory committee.

But concerns have been raised that the control of the academy is going to representatives from outside of the town.

A decision to replace the entire leadership team was made by the Board of Academies South West, which met earlier this month to review governance arrangements.

It followed shortly after a two-day Ofsted inspection of the academy on September 30 and October 1.

The dramatic changes also come not long after the unexpected departure of principal Nick Hindmarsh who left during the school holidays in August, and more recently the resignation of , Mary Shaw, chairman of the academy’s board of governors.

Mrs Shaw, who joined the governing body five years ago and had been chairman since 2012, said her departure close to Mr Hind­marsh’s exit was a coincidence.

‘We lost Nick Hindmarsh unexpectedly, for personal reasons,’ she said. ‘But my departure had been planned and known since February 2014. It was unfortunate that they came close on the heels of each other as both were natural and unconnected developments on the journey of the Academy.’

Tina Graham, the acting academy principal and head of sixth form at Kingsbridge Community College, was unavailable for comment this week as the school is on a half-term break.

But Devon county and district councillor Jonathan Hawkins, a former school governor, said he believed it had been a sad day for the academy when it joined forces with Kingsbridge.

‘I was always concerned when Dart­mouth was going to become a joint academy trust and I am concerned now that the control of the academy is being taken away from local governors,’ he said.

‘There are special issues that need addressing and I believe Nick Hind­marsh and Mary Shaw did all they possibly could to achieve the best possible education for students.’

Cllr Hawkins said he would be meeting shortly with acting principal Tina Graham to discuss all matters concerning the future of the school.

However, David Arnold, chairman of the new multi-academy trust, claimed the changes would mean ‘a sharper focus for governance’.

In a message posted on the academy’s website, he said: ‘The board recognised the substantial progress that had already been made by the new acting principal, Tina Graham.

‘The ASW board decided that to support the acting principal and embed improvement, it would appoint a highly qualified advisory committee.

‘ASW is committed to making sure that Dartmouth has a thriving and successful school to serve the needs of our community. In order to support that process of rapid improvement, governance has been streamlined and focused on the key priority of raising standards to an outstanding level.

‘A new interim advisory committee is being formed under the chairmanship of Bob Mitchell, who has been principal of two outstanding secondary schools, and the vice-chair, Mel Easter, who led her primary school in Brixham to outstanding.

‘They will be joined by parent and community members and will provide the challenge and support that will help on our journey towards becoming a good and then outstanding academy.’

It was just over 12 months ago that Dartmouth academy joined forces with Kingsbridge Commun­ity College, and the Our School Federation, comprising East Allington, Blackawton, Stoke Fleming and Kingswear primary schools, to form a multi-academy trust, which is the employer of all staff at the schools and is responsible for the provision of services such as finance, catering and premises.

Roger Pope, principal of Kingsbridge Community College, who has taken on the responsibility of chief executive officer of the trust, said at the time: ‘Each school will retain and build its individual character and ethos, while gaining from the benefits of working in partnership.’

In May, Mr Hind­marsh said being part of Academies South West gave the Dart­mouth school greater security and local support.

However, due to national funding cuts to education, the academy was restructuring its management team to save money, he said. The number of management roles would be reduced and some staff, including the principal, would receive pay cuts.

‘Despite the changes, classroom teaching will not be affected and we will continue with small class sizes to provide the bespoke education for which we are known,‘ he said.

Mr Hindmarsh, who joined the academy as principal in 2011, is now principal of Tottenham University Technical College in London.

Mrs Shaw added: ‘In January 2014, I told the academy that I would be standing down from Dartmouth local governing board at the end of that academic year.

‘The following month the Department of Education announc­ed that Dartmouth would be transferring to a new multi-academy trust and I agreed that I would stay at Dartmouth until its next Ofsted inspection, to provide continuity during a significant period of change.

‘In September 2014, the Academies South West Board agreed the membership of Dartmouth’s local governing body. After that we operated under their governance schedule, supported by senior Kingsbridge staff.’

The former Dart­mouth governing body was made up of Dee Nutt, Steve Smith, Sheila Shipman, Nick Green, Alex Clarke, Kelly Knott, Brian Longland and James McMurray.

Academies South West has 10 officers: secretary Elisabeth Collard and directors David Arnold, Linda Evans, Jeremy Fother­gill, Simon Gotch, Elizabeth Matthews, Roger Pope, Michael Rolls, Barrie Taylor and Stephen Tucker.