A south Shropshire comprehensive school has dropped its bid to gain academy status, blaming cuts in Government funding.

Governors at Church Stretton School said their decision was due to a “significant” decrease in funding being made available for new academies in Britain since it first started to consider the idea last December. But the Department of Education has hit back at the claims.

It says the academy system was designed to give school leaders more power, not more money.

Church Stretton School has sent a letter to parents of all its 689 pupils including a statement explaining why governors made the unanimous decision.

It said: “In the short interval since the academy fact finding group presented its findings, the Government has significantly revised downwards the amount that it pays to schools operating as academies.

“This has wiped out any financial gain that Church Stretton School might have made by becoming an academy. The governors have therefore decided unanimously not to initiate any move to academy status under these conditions.

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“We will continue to strive to find the best ways of delivering solid educational values in a shifting political landscape. We remain committed to continuing to work with staff, students and the community to make Church Stretton School an outstanding school for all its pupils.”

The Department of Education suggested the school had missed the point of academy status.

A spokesman said: “Academies do not get preferential funding over maintained schools. Schools should convert because they gain more control over their day-to-day running, not to get more money.

“The Government bel- ieves schools know how best to run themselves, not politicians or civil servants.

“We’ve given every school the chance to run its own affairs.”

Headteacher Steve Lunt wrote to parents in December and in the spring outlining how governors felt academy status could have a positive impact.