Academisation looms for a Greenwich school after it was told by Ofsted it needed to improve following a poor Ofsted report.

The John Roan School received the result of its March Ofsted inspection on June 4 with the the school being rated as inadequate.

Parents and governors have been holding meetings in the past month in anticipation of the report with the knowledge that the school's latest poor showings could mean it would be sent down the path of becoming an academy.

The last Ofsted report in 2013, which rated the school as Good, was under the former head teacher Des Malone, who retired in 2015.

Under the management of new head teacher Nadine Powrie, the school reported a £438,000 deficit in 2016 and she left very suddenly in May that year due to “ill health”.

Two more interim head teachers were appointed and then left in very short time frames, which left the school in a difficult situation.

The latest Ofsted report noted that the churn of management has had a detrimental impact on the pupils, with GCSE results plummeting, classes taught by temporary teachers, and student’s behaviour noted as very poor.

New head teacher Cath Smith apologised to parents in an open letter, saying she was “disappointed” with the result.

Ms Smith, who only took up the position permanently in the month before the inspection, said: “Inspectors acknowledged the prolonged period of upheaval due to significant changes in leadership over recent years but believe that the school must take action to improve.

“The report praises recent improvements, particularly in terms of behaviour, personal development and teaching and learning, but correctly states more time is required to embed all new initiatives throughout the school.

“I have been a Headteacher in Inner London for seven years, and a senior school leader for many more, and want to reassure you that I have the necessary experience to oversee the school’s required improvements.”

With the risk of academisation looming for the school, Greenwich and Woolwich MP Matthew Pennycook wrote to the secretary for education Damian Hinds urging for the school to not go down that path.

In the open letter he said: “In the case of The John Roan, I believe that there are strong grounds to suggest that the school could, with the continued support of the local authority and other partner organisations, turn the situation around and deliver rapid and sustained improvement in performance and educational standards if it were given the opportunity to do so.

“It has served the children of Greenwich for over three centuries and remains a valued part of our local community.

“I fear that if a directive academy order is issued in the near future, it will prove to be an unnecessary distraction that will pull the senior leadership and governing body’s attention away from an unswerving focus on outcomes for pupils and toward the finer details of academy models and governance structures.”