A meeting to consult the local community about the future of a Norwich high school has heard strong opposition to a controversial academy chain taking it over.
More than 100 people attended last night's meeting at the Hewett School about government proposals for it to join the Inspiration Trust.
The trust, whose other schools include Thetford and Cromer academies, was represented by Ian Burchett, after the organisation running the consultation asked chief executive Dame Rachel de Souza to stay away, to ensure continuity with the previous meetings.
Members of the audience cheered and applauded when one woman asked what it would take for it to withdraw from the proposals, and added: 'We don't want you here.'
Mr Burchett said Inspiration's responsibility would be to the Hewett pupils, it would support the vision of incoming head Tom Leverage, and not create an 'all-new Hewett'.
He added the school would benefit from working together with other trust schools, its teaching programmes, and opportunities for partnerships.
One man accused the Inspiration Trust of 'cronyism', and asked about the number of its trustees and governors who he said had no expertise in education, but were wealthy property consultants, fund managers, or relatives of other trustees.
Mr Burchett said they had expertise that allowed them to question headteachers about issues such as finance, employment law, and building projects.
A teaching union representative said Inspiration Trust had a reputation as a bad employer among unions, and added: 'We call it the Inspiration Lack of Trust.'
Other people said the trust had a centralised governing structure, and little voice for parents, but Inspiration representatives said that parent advisory groups fed into governing bodies.
A total of 228 people have so far taken part in the official online consultation.
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