A governor has resigned in protest after his school became the latest in Waltham Forest to explore seeking academy status.

Shumon Ali-Rahman had sat on the board of governors at Lammas School in Leyton for the past five years.

However, the 38-year-old chose to step down earlier this month when governors voted to look at the option of academisation and potentially joining a Multi Academy Trust (MAT).

Mr Ali-Rahman said: “I have always been very strongly against academies and I joined Lammas School as it was a secondary local authority-funded school.

“It is clear that Lammas will be eventually be heading towards academy status as part of a MAT. Due to my strongly held views, I simply cannot be part of this journey.

“I have heard first hand from certain Waltham Forest councillors on their opposition to schools being turning into academies as it results in the council losing funding for grant maintained schools.

“I passionately believe we should be making sure as many schools as possible remain local authority-funded so the Government does not find an excuse to convert all schools into academies within Waltham Forest.”

Academy schools are directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control.

Figures suggest GCSE exam results generally improve at schools that have been converted into academies.

However, the scheme has also come under criticism from parents and teachers for being “selective” and a “backdoor to privatisation” of education.

In May, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan scrapped plans into take all schools out of local authority control by 2022, following a backlash from teachers.

However, representatives of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) in Waltham Forest have warned the borough’s schools may still face “academisation by stealth”.

The Government still intends to force academisation when a high percentage of schools in a local authority area have already become academies.

Waltham Forest currently has 21 academies and 47 local authority-controlled schools.

Lammas School headteacher, Shona Ramsay, said: “In common with school governing bodies across the country, governors at Lammas are always looking at the various options available to them in order to secure the best possible future for the school and the children who attend it.

“In addition, a Staff and Governors Working Party has been formed, which has also met to consider a variety of ways forward for Lammas.

“Academisation is one of the options available to the school, but no decisions have been made.”