THE head teacher of a Bradford’s biggest school is quitting after it was placed in special measures last month.

Nicholas Bell has announced that he is stepping down after a decade working at Grange Technology College at the end of the school year.

He will be replaced on a temporary basis by senior staff at Guiseley School.

Last month, Grange, which has about 1,800 pupils, was branded inadequate by Ofsted, with inspectors saying performance was poor, the sixth form had “stark shortcomings” and that leadership was inadequate.

Mr Bell said: “Following recent events, I have decided that it is in the best interests of all concerned that I step down from my role as head teacher.

“I believe this will allow the school to move forward quickly, while I look forward to new opportunities.

“I have greatly enjoyed my ten years at Grange working with many fantastic staff and students.

“I wish them the very best for the future.”

The academy is run by the Southfield Grange Trust, and the trust’s head Dominic Wall said urgent work was being done to turn the school’s performance around.

Mr Wall said part of that improvement plan involved working with Guiseley School and Oldham Sixth Form College.

From September, the school will be run by a “turn around team” including Paul Morrissey and Alison Mander, head teacher and deputy head teacher respectively at Guiseley School.

Mr Morrissey will be executive head teacher and Miss Mander, acting head teacher, leading the school’s 12-month turnaround team.

They have already worked with senior leaders within the school to develop a plan of action to rapidly raise standards.

Mr Wall said: “Nicholas Bell is an honourable man and a hard working professional and he firmly believes he has given this job his all for the past three years.

“He has now decided to let someone else lead the school through the next stage of development.”

He said he hoped the school’s results this coming year would be an improvement on the previous, and that by summer 2017 there would be a significant improvement in results.

Mr Wall held two meetings with parents after the Ofsted report was published.

He said: “I promised parents that leadership would improve, and these arrangements are part of that plan.

“The team from Guiseley are known for doing good work in schools in difficulty.

“The team at this school are a dedicated group of professionals, what they need is the right kind of leadership from the top to give them the confidence they need to tackle the challenges the school faces.”