A Worcester school has moved a step closer to becoming Worcestershire's first academy after the county council unveiled a multi-million pound educational charity could take it over.

But the announcement that ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) could run Elgar Technology College has been criticised by executive headteacher David Seddon, who was brought in to turn the school around last year.

Mr Seddon, who is also headteacher of Baxter College in Kidderminster, said it "smells of panic" because a meeting has already been organised with another potential sponsor on Monday, May 12.

"We are not convinced this (ARK's submission) would be in the best interests of Elgar at this moment in time," he said.

"We haven't discussed it properly with the group of governors, we have seen no comprehensive documentation about ARK's philosphy and whether that fits in with ours, and we don't know why they want to become a part of Elgar."

Elgar was failed by Ofsted inspectors last year, and as a result remains on Special Measures.

The county council's director of children's services, Richard Hubbard, said: "Elgar Technology College's federation with Baxter College in Kidderminster, and the excellent work that executive headteacher David Seddon and new headteacher of the school Andrew Grace have undertaken with the restructured governing body, has led to the school really making progress. We need to build on this now to create a vibrant school for the young people in that part of the city. Academy status has the potential to bring with it new opportunities."

We previously reported how the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) wants to see Elgar in Bilford Road become one of the Government's controversial academies.

On ARK's website, the London-based charity which currently has a network of five academies open or under development in London, says it contributes £2 million towards the capital cost of each school it sponsors - towards the cost of new buildings or refurbishment of existing ones - prefers to create small schools with between 200 and 350 pupils. Elgar currently has about 800.

Mr Seddon said he would rather a local organisation took over, should the board of governors decide turning it into an academy would be in its best interests, because they would have more interest in the welfare of its children and the local community.

Nobody from ARK was available for comment.

The next step will see the school submit an expression of interest document - a formal process that describes the local authority's and sponsors' ambitions for the school - to the Government, which will need to be be signed off by trustees of the sponsors and the county council. That is expected to take between six to 12 weeks.

A report asking for a final decision on whether to proceed with the process will then be presented to the county council's Cabinet.

What is Ark?

  • An international charity founded by a group of senior figures in the alternative investment industry in 2002
  • Its mission is to transform children's lives and has addressed issues of Aids in Africa, children in care in eastern Europe, and education in Asia and the UK
  • ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) raised £26.6 million at a gala dinner in London last year attended by former USA president Bill Clinton. Prizes included dinner with former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev while Prince entertained guests and Madonna delivered a pledge appeal
  • The previous year's dinner, closed by a performance from Sir Elton John, raised £18.4 million

Academy facts

  • Academies are schools which have opted out of local authority control, deciding their own curriculum and drawing funding from central
  • The school must raise up to £2 million from private sponsors and the Government pays the remaining costs
  • Academies cannot cherry-pick pupils and are expected to admit pupils with special educational needs and disabilities
  • Sponsors of acadamies 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