HEADLANDS School has to improve, and improve fast. That is the message from Coun Nick Martin (Con, Shaw and Nine Elms), who has come out in support of the controversial changes put in place at the school by Swindon's local education authority.

A rise in GCSE results of almost a third in two years was not enough to stop Swindon Council stepping in and stripping headteacher John Wells of control of the school's staffing and finances.

Coun Martin is the council's lead member for corporate recovery and service delivery, which means he is responsible for making sure that the council is recovering from the troubles caused by failures in education and social services.

He says that children only get one chance at education and that Headlands results must improve by at least 100 per cent. With only 16 per cent of pupils gaining the benchmark five or more GCSEs at grade A to C, the school lags a long way behind the national average of 52 per cent.

In 2001 the education authority failed a Government inspection carried out by Ofsted, and since 2002 private company Tribal has been running the department in a contract scheduled to last until 2005.

Coun Martin said: "Education will remain fairly independent of the education authority for some years but there are people like myself keeping a close eye because the borough's GCSE results have to improve.

"We have got to turn around schools such as Headlands because its results are so far below the national average.

"I think this is the only way of dealing with things, the education department has made a professional judgement which I fully support."

Labour's education spokesman Coun Jim D'Avila (Lab, Moredon) echoed Coun Martin's views, stating he supported "whatever was necessary" to turn the school around.

He said: "John Wells' action plan was accepted by the Government inspectors but it is a starting point. Converting it into results is the most difficult task."

Mr Wells said last week: "I am very pleased that the LEA is giving us additional support to increase the pace of change at the school."