THE headteacher of a school at the centre of Britain's first education federation has been suspended after a report revealed serious concerns about bullying, truancy and pupils' behaviour.

Karen Pemberton was suspended from her position at the helm of Eastbourne Comprehensive School, in Darlington, as council bosses launched an investigation into how it is managed.

Eastbourne made national headlines in 2003 when it became one half of the Government's first federation of schools, working closely alongside the top-performing Hurworth Comprehensive.

The project - backed by £2m of funding from the Department for Education and Skills - was designed to help revive Eastbourne, which had been placed into the "special measures" category by education watcgdog Ofsted.

Both schools went on to achieve record GCSE results and last month it was announced that the federation would end a year ahead of schedule because of its success.

But an audit of Eastbourne School, carried out by Darlington Borough Council officials as part of an exit strategy from the federation, has lifted the lid on serious on-going problems.

The report, seen by The Northern Echo, reveals that:

l There are concerns about the levels of bullying and truanting within the school.

* Pupils are scared of being attacked at school, with coins and bottles being thrown around corridors.

l Teachers are confronted by pupils in a threatening way.

* Staff are shocked by incidents in classrooms and corridors, with pupils' behaviour sometimes considered "frightening".

* Retaining staff has been difficult because of the school's problems.

l Staff believe there are too high numbers of supply teachers, with many unsure what to do.

l Staff are confused about the role of the federation.

l Governors describe the school as fragile and do not want to be "abandoned" by the council as they need help and support.

The borough council would not comment on the content of the report last night, but it issued a brief statement, saying: "The headteacher of Eastbourne Comprehensive School, Karen Pemberton, has been suspended.

"Ms Pemberton has been suspended without prejudice, pending an investigation by the council into concerns around the management of the school."

Eammon Farrar - chief executive of the Hurworth-Eastbourne Federation, which is due to end on July 31 - takes over as acting headteacher today (MON).

Last month, he hailed Ms Pemberton's work as one of the driving forces behind a turnaround in fortunes at Eastbourne.

The school was taken out of special measures last November after a record 33 per cent of pupils achieved at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C.

Mr Farrar said last month: "The federation has provided an excellent example of partnership work in Darlington, leading to higher standards, and the real winners have been the pupils."

Ms Pemberton was not available for comment last night, but the chairwoman of governors, Councillor Veronica Copeland, said the situation had come as a shock.

"There have been concerns, especially around discipline, and I think it was felt that it would be better if Karen was away from the scene while a good look is taken at this area," she said.

"A number of parents had expressed their concerns and felt issues they raised were not being fully dealt with.

"Mr Farrar is a very experienced headteacher and he will be stepping in during this time."

The audit of Eastbourne involved staff and pupils being interviewed, while the observations of those carrying it out - from April 11 to 22 - were also included in the report.

The report says: "There was a general consensus that behaviour had deteriorated since the school had been removed from special measures and that, even though the systems were described as 'excellent' by a number of staff, they were felt not to be effective, as staff were either overwhelmed by the administrative task they imposed or overwhelmed by the 'enormity' of the behaviour problem."

It also says of the federation: "There appeared confusion around the role, responsibilities and relationships around the federation.

"It is clear that some departments have developed good working relationships with Hurworth School. They are keen for these to continue, but are uncertain at this time what the future plans are."

However, some improvements are identified, with the staff turnover and sickness absence levels slowly getting better.

The use of security cameras has also been a deterrent to pupils simply walking out of school and staff have reported improved attendance figures recently.

Uncertain future - Page 7