WheN Government education chiefs turn up in Worcester next week to talk about turning Elgar Technology College into a so-called city academy, they will face quite a few questions - not least from the school's headteacher.

David Williams was as surprised as anyone when he discovered that a change to academy status was on the cards for the troubled school.

Mr Williams was brought in to temporarily run the school - which was judged by Ofsted inspectors to be failing - after its previous head was seconded to the county council.

The council and the school's staff are supposed to be working together to turn Elgar around, but there seems to have been a major communication breakdown here.

Becoming a city academy is a major step for any school, and for Worcestershire County Council to spring the news of the proposal on the man who actually runs Elgar is scarcely believable.

If the news took the man who runs the school by surprise, you can just imagine how confused staff, pupils and parents will be, especially as the county council - which will make the final decision on whether Elgar becomes an academy - ruled out the same move two years ago.

Why the U-turn now? Perhaps, as academies effectively run themselves and are funded by Government, the council just wants to offload a school that has become a problem.

It is too early to judge whether becoming an academy is the answer to Elgar's problems.

But before anyone can make an informed decision, they first need to be told what's going on.