Head teachers of two schools in Ashford which have been told to improve their exam results or face closure have hit back.

The Towers School and the North School are among 638 secondary schools in England which are below the Government’s “floor target” meaning fewer than 30 per cent target of pupils got at least five good GCSEs including English and maths last year.

Kent County Council, school staff and governors now have 50 days to produce a detailed action plan for improvement. If there is none within three years, schools could be closed, merged, or turned into privately run academies.

The head teacher of the North School has criticised the table describing it as “nonsense”.

Lesley Ellis said: “I am very concerned that the Government has used one standard outcome (that of five GCSEs at grade C or above including maths and English) on which to base their judgements about schools.

“This is fine if all schools are equal and all students the same.”

Malcolm Ramsey, head teacher of the Towers School, said being unfairly included in the table rubbishes the outstanding progress that the school has made over the past six years.

He said: “The Towers School, like all the other high schools, is in a selective setting where 25 per cent of students are selected for grammar schools.”

Christ Church School is also included in the table but the head declined to comment.

~For full story and reaction, see this week’s Kentish Express.