A school whose charismatic headteacher was banned from teaching after allegations pupils were being illegally removed from the school register is at the centre of a major new investigation.
A raft of allegations have been made against The Lowry Academy in Little Hulton, Salford, by whistleblowers. Formerly Harrop Fold High it attracted national fame when featured in the TV programme Educating Greater Manchester.
The star of the programme was Drew Povey, the then headteacher. But as the cameras were still rolling for another episode in the summer of 2018 he was suspended. He later resigned the same year despite denying the allegations.
In November 2018, 14 years after first being put into special measures, Harrop Fold was again deemed to be a failing school. It was rated "inadequate" in all five areas of inspection by Ofsted.
It meant the school was moved out of local authority control and became an academy. In 2021 Harrop Fold officially became an academy under the United Learning Trust and was given a brand-new name, The Lowry Academy.
It was hoped the rebrand would give the school a new start after a chequred past.
In 2004, one of the most damning Ofsted reports ever published on a Salford school said Harrop Fold had "alarmingly poor" teaching standards, below average academic achievement and disruptive pupils who were out of control.
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