Suspended head set to leave Our Lady’s

ROGER WHITTAKER: leaving Our Lady’s

OUR Lady’s High School head teacher Roger Whittaker is leaving nearly six months after he was suspended.

He is said to have reached an agreement with the Royton school, which is due to close in 2012.

Mr Whitaker joined the 1,200-pupil Catholic secondary in 2003 from Newman School, Carlisle, where he was head teacher for 10 years.

He was praised for his outstanding leadership by Ofsted in 2007 after GCSE results at Our Lady’s were among the most improved in the country.

But in October, 2009, the local authority conducted a review over the school’s instability in leadership and falling standards in the sixth form and several curriculum areas. In April, the Chronicle reported that the business manager and a secretary had also been suspended.

Two more members of staff have since been suspended and six people made redundant, prompting claims that the school is in chaos and has budgeting problems.

However, Ofsted inspectors who visited at the end of May found that it provides a satisfactory standard of education.

Our Lady’s was also praised for making good progress under the strong leadership of acting head teacher Carol Spillane and the supportive senior leadership team.

Mrs Spillane is leaving at the end of term to become head of Calder High School, West Yorkshire.

The current acting head teacher of Kaskenmoor School, Bob Thornton, will take her place until the Vaughan Street school merges with St Augustine’s, Werneth, to create a new Catholic school.

A new head will then run the £30 million school, which will open in Chadderton in 2012.

Chairman of Governors Mike Aston confirmed that he had signed an agreement for Mr Whittaker to leave and was waiting for it to be countersigned. He could not comment further and added: “Part of the agreement was that I signed a gagging order.”