HAYDON Bridge High School's boarding wing at Ridley Hall is set to close at the end of this week until further notice.

A new interim executive board (IEB), appointed by the Government this week to oversee the school's transition to academy status, said that the Ridley Hall closure was a temporary measure.

In a statement, the IEB said parents of affected pupils had been contacted, and that Northumberland County Council had been asked to ensure that appropriate transport arrangements are in place.

The IEB said Ridley Hall was being closed for safeguarding reasons because the county council had removed care staff and a residential manager from the boarding wing, "with very limited notice."

The county council insists it only acted after being told by the IEB that it is to have no further involvement with the running of Haydon Bridge High School.

The council's deputy chief executive Daljit Lally confirmed that the authority had removed members of staff initially provided to help the school make improvements at Ridley Hall following a damning Ofsted report last year.

Mrs Lally added: "The local authority has been directed to have no further involvement with the running of the school.

"We have no option but to return our seconded county council members of staff to their usual Local Authority duties."