Lancing school told: "Do better or face closure"

ADUR'S two secondary schools have been told to improve their exams results or face closure.

King's Manor Community College in Shoreham and Lancing's Boundstone Community College are among 638 schools nationwide, in which fewer than 30 per cent of pupils achieve at least five good grade GCSEs including English and maths.

The government is launching the National Challenge which will require every secondary school in England to have achieved this GCSE benchmark within three years.

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This 400million standards drive includes the creation of 70 new school academies with King's Manor and Boundstone already earmarked to be turned into academies by 2009.

Local authorities are to be given 50 days to produce a rescue plan to improve schools in their area.

But for those that fail to make adequate progress there is the threat of intervention and possible closure.

At Boundstone Community College, 29 per cent of pupils managed to achieve five top grade GCSEs last year while at King's Manor it was just 23 per cent.

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Both headteachers at the schools have supported plans by the West Sussex County Council to turn the schools into academies each run by a sponsor.

The Boundstone sponsor is The Woodard Corporation, which founded Lancing College and is a charitable Church of England organisation which owns or runs 40 independent and state schools across Britain.

Boundstone headteacher Richard Evea, who will retire at the end this term after six years as head, said: "The case for a new building is irrefutable. We have got some of the worst stock in West Sussex.

"If we don't take this opportunity it could be eight, nine or even 10 years before the school is rebuilt. Anyone who is anxious about the changes should ask themselves a simple question.

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'Will this change improve the life chances of our young people?' There is a simple answer '“ hugely."

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