MOST staff at Salendine Nook High School have opposed the school’s move towards becoming an academy, claims a union leader.

Mike Forster, education steward for union Unison, says 95% of union members at the school have voted against the school bidding for academy status.

Approximately 85% of staff at Salendine Nook High School (SNHS) are members of unions.

But despite the opposition, the school’s governing board has been pressing on with the move, Mr Forster says.

Now Unison and its fellow unions, the NUT, NASWUT and ATL, have petitioned the school’s governing board and demanded an urgent meeting with its governors. They hope to meet this week.

The school is set to become an academy on February 1.

Those who oppose academies believe they leave a school vulnerable to the political whims of private companies and religious groups.

The petition says: “We have canvassed the views of our members extensively and our members remain overwhelmingly opposed to SNHS becoming an academy.

“As a result of the strength of feeling from the staff a petition was circulated by members seeking a response from the governing body and requesting an urgent meeting.”