A SCHOOL fighting plans for its closure has moved a step closer to securing its future as an academy.

Governors at Eston Park School have agreed to work with the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) in a bid to block Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's plan.

In February, the council launched a consultation to outline its plans to convert Eston Park School and Gillbrook College into an academy on one site.

But the proposals were met with strong opposition from parents, staff and governors at Eston Park.

AET, which is sponsored by the Greensward Charitable Trust, works with schools across the South of England and the Midlands.

Eston Park headteacher Jim Rogers said: "This has been an unsettling time for many and we have had to spend many hours trying to fend off the local authority, while at the same time trying to find a constructive way forward.

"The council thwarted our original proposals for academy status by submitting its own very different counter proposals. I trust they will support our current offer in the interests of everyone in the community."

The school's future has been uncertain for more than two years.

The council's original scheme was rejected by the schools adjudicator after the council faced strong opposition from within the community, and especially from the leaders of Eston Park School.

About £90m had been earmarked under the Building Schools for the Future programme, but after this was scrapped, the scheme was reconsidered and the closure plan finally revoked in November, when the schools adjudicator ruled both schools should remain as they are.

However, in December, the council again agreed to close Eston Park and neighbouring Gillbrook College to create a merged superschool using the Gillbrook buildings.

Acting headteacher Duncan Haig said: "I am looking forward to the future with renewed vigour and optimism. The school has fought for so many years on so many fronts.

"We now have a solution that perfectly suits both our purposes and vision."

However, the council has defended its decision to continue with its plans to create an academy with the two schools.

Councillor George Dunning, leader of the council, said: "Our proposals for a single academy have been developed with the best interests of local schoolchildren now, and for generations to come, at heart.We are continuing with our plans as normal, as we seek to offer first-class learning environments that will help to drive up educational standards."