Parents try to halt Oxted School turning into academy
Parents have called for a halt to proposals to turn one of Surrey's largest secondary schools into an academy.
The governors of Oxted School, in Oxted, are working with the Howard Partnership Trust to make the change.
They say academy status would allow them to have more control and improve standards.
But some parents have said they are not convinced and do not believe there has been enough consultation on the plans.
Dozens of people took part in a meeting against the proposals at Oxted Community Hall on Saturday.
Parent Morag Roulston said: "It really is not a good move for the teachers and I'm very anti it from that point,
"But I think more importantly I'm anti it for the children because of their education. They have one chance at it and this is going to mess it up."
A spokesman for the school said: "The governors of Oxted School have voted in favour of initiating the two-stage process to become a foundation school and converting to academy status within a multi-academy trust as the next stage of its strategy to become an 'outstanding' school."
"We believe that by taking the first step and becoming a foundation school we will be better able to influence and control the future direction of the school to improve standards, and the educational and extra-curricular experiences of our students, whilst maintaining the school's unique character and ethos."