Tower Hamlets Council wants Kobi Nazrul School governors axed

An entire governing body at a primary school in east London could be removed after a dramatic drop in standards.

Tower Hamlets Council wants to replace the 15 governors at Kobi Nazrul School in Whitechapel.

An emergency Ofsted inspection was carried out last week after the school recorded the worst SATs results ever in the borough.

The head teacher and governors said they were not able to comment until Ofsted released its report.

Three years ago the school was rated good with outstanding features.

BBC London's education reporter Marc Ashdown said the vast majority of pupils were Bangladeshi who nearly all speak English as a second language.

He said it was a deprived area and that the number of pupils on free school meals was twice the national average.

'Cause for concern'

Our reporter added that the trouble began in the autumn of 2012 when the governors recruited a new head teacher, to which the council formally objected.

The following summer, the school SATs results for English and maths were 40% - the lowest ever recorded in the borough. The previous year they had been 82%.

In September 2013, following an investigation the school was labelled a "cause for concern", while in December the council raised a formal warning notice.

The governors have failed in their attempts to make the school and academy and therefore out of council control.

Ofsted carried out an emergency inspection on 2 June. It said the inspection was not due to fears of any takeover plot.

The council has said there has been a "complete breakdown in relations" with some of the governors.

It will formally ask Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove to remove the governors on 3 July.