MORE than half the governing body at a primary school in Malmesbury have resigned simultaneously.

Seven governors at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School - including the chair and vice chair - handed in a joint resignation letter earlier this month.

In it they say they have 'reached the point where we feel we can no longer discharge our statutory function with any true meaning'.

The shock resignation means the school had lost six out of its seven foundation governors plus its only local authority governor.

The board is made up of 12 members including headteacher Sue Woods.

In the letter, the governors go on to say: "We have not reached this decision lightly but regrettably our relationship with the senior leadership of the school has strained over the last few years.

“We have tried to fulfil our duty to you, the pupils of the school, the local authority and the Diocese but it has now reached point where we feel we can longer discharge our statutory function with any true meaning.

"Over the many years that our members have supported the school we have enjoyed excellent working relationships with the outstanding teaching and support staff.

“Sadly, we have seen far too many of them and pupils leave in the past few years.

“We wish to extend our thanks to staff past and present for their tireless efforts and dedication to the school and we wish them every success in the future.”

The governors have urged Wiltshire Council and the Clifton Diocese, the school's church governance, to investigate a range of issues over the past year but feel no action has been taken.

This letter was posted on the Our Malmesbury group Facebook page last week which sparked an array of contrasting comment.

The local authority has requested an interim executive board to govern the school, which was rated as 'Good' in its latest Ofsted report in May.

Commenting on the resignations, a spokesperson for St Joseph's said: “We want to thank the governors for their commitment to the school and for all their hard work while in their roles.

"It would not be appropriate to comment on the reasons for the changes, however we are working with the local authority and the Diocese to support strong governance and take forward the priorities of the school and build on the recent Good inspection by Ofsted.

"We look forward to working with them and our school community.

"We are grateful to all our families for their understanding during this time of change and we will keep everyone updated as we move forward.”