A HEADTEACHER has left a troubled East Oxford school without warning.

St Gregory the Great Catholic School wrote to parents on Thursday, informing them that head of secondary Sean Tucker has 'left following a short leave of absence'.

His mysterious departure comes just weeks after governors at the school disbanded, and were replaced with a temporary team called an interim governing board.

The shake-up in leadership follows the all-through academy's latest Ofsted in December, which rated it 'inadequate' for the second time in a row.

Mr Tucker joined the school in September 2017, a few months after it was initially placed in special measures, as assistant principal.

He had previously worked for 17 years as head of religious education, at an 'outstanding'-rated school in Surrey.

READ AGAIN: Latest Ofsted report for St Greg's

He became acting head in January 2018 before being officially appointed as head of secondary in April last year.

Parents told the Oxford Mail they had not seen him around the school in Cricket Road for a couple of weeks.

The letter received by parents was signed by Paul Concannon and Fraser Long, who are both directors of the Dominic Barberi Multi Academy Company.

This is the multi-academy trust that runs St Greg's, and the pair are also members of the school's new governing board.

ALSO READ: St Greg's confirms it is NOT closing despite government website confusion

They wrote: "Sean Tucker has left St Gregory the Great School following a short leave of absence.

"I hope you will join us as we wish him all the best in his future career.

"It is extremely important that the school is supported by strong leadership and the school’s interim governing board will hold a rigorous recruitment drive to find the best person to take on the headship.

"Although the recruitment of a suitable headteacher is not a quick process, it will be a thorough one, and I look forward to updating you when we have made an appointment."

ALSO READ: Governors disband after latest Ofsted at St Greg's

The position will be temporary filled by Heather Pallier, who will step up on an interim basis from her current role as deputy headteacher of secondary.

The primary phase of St Greg's, which Ofsted rated 'good' in both the 2019 and 2017 report, will continue to be led by the primary headteacher Hannah Forder-Ball.

Mr Tucker's name has been removed from the school's staff list and a previous photo of him lined up with colleagues has been replaced with a photo of them without him.

Other members of the new interim governing board include former Oxford Academy headteacher Niall McWilliams.

The school has several heads and interim heads since the original 2017 inspection.

In May 2018, the previous principal Marcella McCarthy and vice principal Rodger Caseby also left the school with immediate effect.

The pair had also been on leave and parents were informed months later via letter that they would not be returning.