THE chairman of the governors of a troubled Hampshire special school has stepped down just months into the job.

David DuCroz became chairman of the board of governors at the Stanbridge Earls School near Romsey in March after Tony Knight quit the position citing personal reasons.

Mr DuCroz was a member of the governing body for four years, vice-chairman for the past two years, and chairman of the education committee.

On becoming chairman earlier this year he vowed to do everything he could to safeguard the school's future.

This came after police launched an investigation into £39,000 a year private school amid claims of sexual abuse committed by pupils.

It also followed a Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability tribunal earlier this year.

This concluded that the school had discriminated against a girl and that staff members failed to tell the youngster's parents that she had complained of pain in an intimate part of her body.

But in the following weeks the school saw the resignation of head teacher Peter Trythall followed by an Ofsted report verdict that the school could not be considered a “safe institution”.

An emergency inspection in June led to claims being made to Ofsted that three male teenagers rock climbed half naked on a half-term trip, allegedly watched by two teachers.

However, in a letter to parents announcing his departure, Mr DuCroz said the continuing crisis was not why he was leaving.

He said: “Since taking over after Tony Knight's resignation in March, it had always been my intention to step aside as soon as a suitable replacement could be found.”

Jenny Ringo, a parent of a year 10 pupil, has taken over.

But in the letter Mr DuCroz also reveals how the Department of Education (DfE) does not want the school to continue trading with the existing governance.

He said: “They have indicated that this is not a question of individuals but a need for wholesale change in the way the school is governed.”

With struggling finances the scandal hit school is currently planning to close and reopen under a different name after being taken over by More House School, a residential special school in Surrey.

But Mr DuCroz warned parents there was no guarantee this would ever happen.

In the future he said that the school might introduce a strict registration criteria, barring any children it could not cope with.

The DFE also had concerns about girls attending the school.

“It is apparent that the DfE have concerns in relation to the safety of girls, and the decision may be taken out of our hands.