Rugby Free Secondary Academy 'inadequate' and faces closure

Rugby Free Secondary School opened in 2016 and has more than 500 male and female pupils

An academy school is facing the threat of closure after getting an inadequate rating in its first inspection.

The quality of teaching and progress of pupils at Rugby Free Secondary School is "weak" and leaders are "reluctant" to acknowledge this, Ofsted found.

The regional school commissioner for the West Midlands said he was now threatening to stop the school's funding unless action is taken.

A spokesman for the school, which opened in 2016, said it had improved.

In their report inspectors, who visited in May, found pupils "choose which teachers they will behave for".

They also said too many pupils arrive late, leaving lessons "for no apparent reasons" and then "walk the corridors and disrupt the learning of other classrooms".

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"Leaders and teachers do not deal effectively with this type of behaviour," it said.

"Ineffective and inconsistent" teaching has caused many incidents of low-level disruption in classes and inspectors also noted a breakdown of relationships among staff.

In a letter to the school asking what action it was taking, commissioner Andrew Warren warned its funding could be terminated if he was not satisfied it "can achieve rapid and sustained improvement" after it was judged to require significant improvement.

In response the school's trust, Learning Today. Leading Tomorrow, told BBC News significant changes were in place that had made a "vast difference in the behaviour for learning within the school".

"We have full confidence that, when Ofsted return, inspectors will recognise that the school is on a strong upward trajectory," a spokesman said.