GOVERNORS at a top-performing Darlington school voted unanimously last night to free it from local authority control.

Hurworth School Maths and Computing College will be a foundation school from April 24.

Governors hope that by gaining foundation status, the future of the school will be secure.

Their decision comes after a bitter nine-month battle against Darlington Borough Council's plans to close the school and merge it with Eastbourne Comprehensive on a new site in Darlington.

Last month, The Northern Echo revealed how the dispute had reached such an impasse that Prime Minister Tony Blair and Darlington MP Alan Milburn had been forced to step in to reach an agreement.

Despite finding a compromise with the council that did not involve the closure of Hurworth, governors pressed ahead with plans for foundation status.

In a statement last night, they said: "As a result of the overwhelming community support for the change of status, and because of the advantages that governors feel that foundation status will bring to the school, the vote in favour of the change was unanimous."

Governors said the new status would mean:

* They would own the buildings - creating opportunities to provide better provision for the local community;

* They would be the sole employer of all staff;

* They would gain charitable status, and so may be able to attract potential sponsors;

* They would have the right to be represented on a number of bodies which determine local authority policies.

Sam Jameson, chairwoman of governors, said: "This is a historic occasion and we will use our new freedoms to further improve our school, building upon the excellence we already achieve. We remain firmly committed to the family of schools in Darlington.

"The real winners are the children and their parents who love this school. They can now relax in the knowledge that it will serve many more generations of pupils."

Headteacher Dean Judson said: "The staff are delighted that we have secured the school's future in the village."

In total, 128 people responded to the governors' consultation - 120 in support of foundation status and eight against.

Ian Holme, spokesperson for campaign group Share, said: "This is wonderful news for Hurworth School and all of the communities it serves.

"Share looks forward to supporting the school and its leadership over the coming months and years."

Darlington Borough Council is now hoping to gain Government money to build an Eastbourne academy. Last night it declined to comment on the governors' decision.