A SECONDARY school has moved swiftly to install a temporary head teacher after an investigation was launched into its poor performance.

The chair of governors at Haydock High School issued a letter to parents this week which confirmed that head teacher Ian Murphy “will not be in school for a period of time”.

St Helens Council subsequently confirmed there is an “investigation into the school’s performance”. The Star understands Mr Murphy has been suspended.

The school will see Cowley principal Cameron Sheeran take temporary charge.

Governors state that Mr Sheeran will work in “a part-time capacity in conjunction with his substantive position at Cowley and the arrangement has been formally agreed between both sets of governors and St Helens Council”.

Haydock High has come under fire for its poor performance, after its GCSE results were found to be “well below average” in its Progress 8 score.

The score ranks schools by how much progress pupils made between the end of their year 6 SATs and their GCSEs, compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2. This is based on results in up to eight qualifications.

Haydock scored -0.68, the second worst performance among the borough’s high schools. The Clipsley Lane school scored the lowest Attainment 8 score in the borough, with 37.4.

This is based on how well pupils have performed in up to eight qualifications.

In May the school had received a ‘requires improvement’ rating following an Ofsted inspection.

A published report gave the school the second lowest rating in all four categories: leadership, quality of teaching, personal development and outcomes for pupils.

At the time, inspectors said “outcomes were low for Year 11 pupils” and, although improving, are ”still set to be low for the current Year 11 as a result of the legacy of previous weak teaching and a narrow curriculum”. They also added that pupils’ learning is “too variable” and that some teachers’ expectations are “not high enough”.

However, they did state school leaders “have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses”.

Head teacher Ian Murphy joined the school in January 2015. Following the Ofsted inspection he said that the school had “undergone significant structural changes” since its previous inspection in 2013 which are “in their infancy” but having “a strong impact”.

However, following the school’s poor GCSE performance, an interim leadership has been put in place at the secondary school pending an investigation.

A St Helens Council spokesman said: “The council can confirm that Haydock High School is currently under interim leadership pending an investigation into the school’s performance.

“We want to reassure parents and guardians that the matter does not relate to safeguarding.”