A Berkshire school is to become the first in the county to be closed down and reopened with private money. Ten million pounds will be invested to create a specialist academy out of Thamesbridge College in Reading.
Education chiefs hope the new public-private partnership that will run the project will produce a successful sports college by 2005.
Reading Borough Council said that the Northumberland Avenue College had failed to meet the required standards.
Consultation expected
The college was declared a failing school in 1998, when it was Ashmead Secondary Modern School.
Its name was changed in 2000 when it was taken off special measures but it has continued to struggle ever since.
The idea of privately-run academies was an idea the Labour government inherited from the Conservatives to improve the education of state pupils in urban areas.
Under the scheme, private sponsors put up a share of the start-up costs and run the academies, while the state pays the ongoing costs.
Consultations with parents and staff on the college's future are now expected to take place.
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