A TROUBLED school which has one of the highest exclusion rates and worst exam results in the region could be saved by a partnership with one of the most successful.

Education chiefs are looking at the possibility of a federation between the highly-acclaimed Macmillan City Technology College, in Middlesbrough, and the nearby Unity City Academy.

Unity has been dogged by controversy since its conception two years ago after an amalgamation between two failing schools in east Cleveland - Langbaurgh and Keldholme. The comprehensives were included on a 70-strong Government hit-list in 2000 following exam results which showed fewer than 15 per cent of students achieved five or more GCSEs A* to C.

Middlesbrough Council took the decision to close them and build a 1,200-place school with the help of £8m from the Government. Pupils were initially taught on both sites, but started moving into the new building in June last year. Three months later, the academy was rocked by the resignation of principal Eddie Brady. Now, criticism of high exclusion rates, and GCSE top-grade pass rates at only 16 per cent, combined with severe financial problems and reports of low staff morale, have prompted the drawing up of an action plan.

Governors from Macmillan and Unity have backed a proposal to form a federation and are waiting for approval from the Department for Skills and Education.

The association - similar to one which turned around the fortunes of Eastbourne Comprehensive, in Darlington, when it joined with nearby Hurworth - will help Unity gain from the expertise of Macmillan's teachers and managers. It will also lead to the creation of a £6m vocational training centre which will be used by all 2,500 pupils from the two establishments.

Last night, Unity chairman of the board of trustees, Joe McCarthy, said: "A key element in our blueprint for the future is the proposal for developing a close relationship with Macmillan College, which over the past decade has achieved a reputation as one of the most successful colleges in the region.

"Macmillan announced some time ago that it wished to become Middlesbrough's third City Academy and we believe that a federation arrangement would enable their teaching and learning methods, which have driven up examination results year on year, to be applied at Unity."

The academy has appointed an interim chief executive, Michael Griffiths, the head of an award-winning school in Peterborough.

Macmillan opened in 1989 and suffered problems with exam results, high staff turnover and bad pupil behaviour. But by 2000 it was hailed as outstanding in the annual report of the chief inspector of schools, and in 2003 it was in the 20 best-performing state schools in the country after 93 per cent of pupils got at least five A* to C grade GCSEs.