LAKERS School in Coleford will become an academy with South Gloucestershire and Strouc College - which already runs Forest High School in Cinderford - as its preferred sponsor.

There has been much speculation about the future of the school since it was put into special measures in December following a poor Ofsted report.

SGS revealed this afternoon (Wednesday) that it had been asked by the Regional Schools’ Commissioner for the South West, Sir David Carter, to become the ’preferred’ sponsor for Lakers.

The commissioner has been looking for a sponsor since December and the decision to ask SGS to be preferred sponsor was made by the Regional Schools Commissioners’ headteachers board which considers such matters.

The college and school were informed of the decision last week.

Lakers’ head John O’Reilly said there would be a consultation period about the move, which would include parents, and could take up to six months.

Chief executive of the SGS Trust, Kevin Hamblin, said they could put together a ’Forest partnership’ of schools