A FAILING Worcester school could become the county's first academy.

If agreed, Elgar Technology College would no longer be controlled by Worcestershire County Council and would instead be run by an outside body - possibly a business or religious organistion.

The move - prompted by the Government - could mean up to £25 million of investment in the Bilford Road school, but would cast doubt over the future of staff and children.

Officials from the school, the county council and the Department for Education Skills (DfES) will meet to discuss the proposal next week.

Whether the school is currently in talks with a third party and when the meeting will take place is not yet known. If approved, it would be a massive u-turn for the local authority, which refused to consider the option two years ago despite calls from Worcester MP Mike Foster.

"I was told in no uncertain terms by a very senior officer at the council 'no' because of the impact it would have on neighbouring schools," he said.

"Elgar has been a failure of the LEA under the previous management as far as I'm concerned and now we have got to put it right."

Academy schools are a government-led initiative which allows schools to decide their own curriculum and draw funding from central government and private individuals or companies.

In a statement, Worcestershire's director of children's services Richard Hubbard said the school's short-term problems had been solved with the appointment of interim headteacher David Williams.

"In the longer term, we are required by ministers to look at the option of city academy status for Elgar," he said.

"The Government has set a national target of 400 academies, so it is not surprising that Worcestershire is being asked to seriously consider this option."

Elgar has suffered a torrid 12 months after its previous headteacher Tony James announced he would be temporarily leaving his post to take up a secondment at County Hall just one day before the school was placed on Special Measures by inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education in March.

Mr Hubbard said: "The actual decision as to whether to proceed rests with the county council but the DfES has the power to impose an academy if the Secretary of State feels that this is the best option. We now need to sit down and focus on the best solution for young people in the area served by the Elgar.

"If an academy is seen as the best option then extensive consultation with all stakeholders would take place, including governors, parents, staff and professional associations."

Headteacher David Williams said he has had "absolutely nothing" to do with the proposal and was only told about the idea yesterday morning.

He said although he has been involved with setting up an academy school in Swindon he needs more information and told parents about the proposals in the school's newsletter sent out yesterday.

Chairman of governors Gill Hellings said she was not against anything that would improve the school and give its "children a better deal".

Academies:-

* Academies are schools which have opted out of local authority control, deciding their own curriculum and drawing funding from central government and private individuals or companies* The school must raise up to £2 million from private sponsors and the Government pays the remaining start-up costs, typically £25 million* The Government expects most pupils at the school to have the option of transferring to the academy, but places are not guaranteed* Academies cannot cherry-pick pupils and are expected to admit pupils with special educational needs and disabilities* Sponsors of academies do not make a profit and the schools do not charge fees* Academies are supposed to be part of the local family of schools, sharing facilities and expertise with other schools and the wider community* The academies programme aims to establish at least 53 academies by 2007 and 200 by 2010. There are currently about 109 projects which are either done deals or in discussion.