The head teacher of an “inadequate” secondary has stepped down during a school merger.

Greenacre Academy head Shelly Bridger has left the trust after 19 years as the school merges with Walderslade Girls’ School (WGS).

The plans for The Skills for Life Trust schools, which share the same site in Walderslade, came to light yesterday evening before they welcomed pupils back today (Thursday, January 4).

The academy, an all-boys school, and Walderslade, an all-girls school, will not be fully merged and will continue to receive separate Ofsted inspections, but will now share the same body of staff.

Mrs Bridger, who had led the Greenacre to two previous “good” Ofsteds reports, says she did not apply for the role of the joint head.

Mrs Louise Campell was appointed as joint head eight months after she was named as WSG head.

Acting trust chief Andrew Minchin says the planned changes, outlined in a letter to parents via the schools’ social media platforms, will provide the “best of both worlds”.

He said the new model will “result in more rapid support for areas needing improvement and mean that more money can be invested into a wider range of support services”.

This will “ensure every student’s need can be supported more efficiently”, he added.

Mr Minchin admitted the schools had struggled in many areas, including leadership, depth of support for SEND, mental health intervention and pastoral support.

A nine-bullet point plan was also detailed and included a continuation of same-sex lessons but with some mixed-class options.

Also on the list is a promise of a new single system for behaviour, communication and administration.

The announcement comes after Ofsted inspectors who visited Greenacre found that pupils’ disrespectful behaviour and derogatory language had become “normalised”.

In one incident at WSG, a mass brawl was filmed and went viral.

Inspectors were also critical of the school’s “alternative curriculum” which they said does not enable students to learn adequate knowledge and skills.

Mr Minchin says in the letter that both schools have “struggles to provide a wide enough range of curriculum subjects” but says it will now offer a broader range of GCSE options.

Mrs Campbell will be joined in the new structure by joint senior leadership and middle leadership teams that the trust says will “allow for greater levels of collaboration and greater leadership efficiencies at all levels”.

The only changes taking effect straight away are at the senior leadership levels, the trust says, which means students will only notice increased visibility to these senior leaders.

It added that following a recent “positive” Ofsted review of the girls’ school it now believes “it is the right time to take this bold but essential step”.