Governors rally behind school after "inadequate" Ofsted ruling

He noted that students' achievement had "weakened" since the last full Ofsted inspection and remained below the national average for the last two years, with the school's targets being missed.

He also criticised standards of teaching which he claimed had been affected by recruitment difficulties which in turn "have affected the quality of learning, notably in English and mathematics, and students say there is a lack of continuity in teaching".

"In addition, some teachers find difficulty in communicating aspects of subject knowledge to students, which impedes progress. In these circumstances, behaviour deteriorates and is not always well managed by teachers."

Mr Long noted that while attempts had been made to improve teaching and attainment, the effort had been undermined by Mike Conn's focus on the new building.

The decision was then made to bring in outside help from education company Ninestiles, and hand over the daily running of the school to acting principal Di Hawksby.

He added: "Nevertheless, these changes are recent and, although there are signs of greater impact, there remains uncertainty over the school's capacity to improve."

An ESCC spokesman said: "We are concerned by the lack of progress the school has made and are continuing to work closely with them to provide a programme of support to make improvements in those areas highlighted by Ofsted."

The board of governors has responded by saying it has "full confidence" in Mr Conn's ability to lead the school into the new accommodation, according to chairman Brian Kentfield.

He said: "His return to the school as full time principal has been met with enthusiasm from the staff and he is now dedicating his efforts to addressing all the issues raised as a result of the Ofsted monitoring visit.

"We are very concerned that students' achievements have been affected and we are determined that the progress made to date should be speeded up.

"However, the difficulties faced by the school over the past three years cannot be underestimated as they were significant and the necessary extent of Mr Conn's involvement in planning for the new school was far greater than originally expected.

"Mr Conn is now back as full time principal and will lead us through the challenges. His action plan is comprehensive and deals with all aspects raised by HMI.

"Governors will now monitor on a weekly basis the progress made so that any extra support may be identified and provided without delay.

"The new facilities accompanied by the success in recruitment for September will make a huge difference in the quality of learning.

"Some aspects of the new curriculum plan will be introduced immediately and Mr Conn will be keeping parents informed with a weekly bulletin so that the school community can see exactly what is happening as we progress through this term and the next one, into the new school.

"The whole school community now needs to rally round and support the plan that Mr Conn has prepared for the entry into the new school without the difficulties we currently experience."