Partnership back on to aid Grove

An educational improvement plan first suggested for The Grove School, Balderton, in April that was blocked by teachers is back on, the Advertiser understands.

While its latest Ofsted report has yet to be made public, it is understood that the school has been issued with a notice to improve after a fall in its GCSE exam pass-rates.

The plan was for a partnership with another secondary school, expected to have been Toot Hill School, Bingham.

The head at Toot Hill, Mr John Tomasevic, would have had joint control of both schools to oversee improvements.

Attainment has dipped at The Grove since it merged with The Newark High School.

The Advertiser understands that The Grove has shown significant signs of improvement since its exam results of 2009 under the acting head, Mrs Liz Hart, but that Ofsted had no alternative but to issue the notice as the last set of results represent the basis for inspection.

The Advertiser also understands that the education authority, Nottinghamshire County Council, has earmarked a school to form the partnership — not Toot Hill this time — and that the head has agreed to take on the dual job.

In April, the governors of The Grove bowed to pressure from teachers and rejected the proposal for a partnership with Toot Hill.

That would have seen Mr Tomasevic take on the stewardship of both for three years — long enough for The Grove to be rebuilt.

A county council spokesman said: “As this Ofsted report has not yet been published we are unable to comment on this issue at this stage.”

The former head at The Grove, Mrs Patricia Head, left at Easter.

A first round of interviews failed to find a stand-out candidate to succeed her and a second round, after the job was re-advertised, is due to take place shortly.

The county council has granted planning permission for The Grove School to be rebuilt at its London Road site under the Government’s Building Schools For The Future programme.