CHILDREN at the troubled Whitehaven Academy were left in tears after it was announced their principal had left.

Warren Turner took over the top post at the school in 2016, but on Friday, Bright Tribe, the trust responsible for the school, announced he was leaving.

Judy Davidson, former school governor, said: “It took us all by surprise. That was the very day of Children In Need and there were children and teachers crying in school. That is mostly how I felt on Friday - we feel we’re back where we started.”

And questions have been raised as to what the reasons behind his sudden departure were.

Julie Rayson, of the Whitehaven Academy Action Group, said Mr Turner had “supposedly been off sick,” ahead of the announcement released by Bright Tribe, which said Mr Turner had come to the realisation that now was the time for him to move on to another role.

Mrs Rayson said: “This is totally out of character, we have our own suspicions.” She added Mr Turner had a fantastic relationship with community members, who felt all the progress made had now been wiped out with Mr Turner’s departure.

When asked if Bright Tribe had forced Mr Turner to resign, a spokesman for the trust said: “Warren has provided strong leadership during a time of turbulence and uncertainty putting the local community at the heart of the school’s journey to become the local school of choice.”

Mrs Rayson said: “We’d like to send a message out to Mr Turner. If he decided to leave for whatever reason, we fully support him and although it’s absolutely devastating, we wish him well. If it’s anything different, we’ll do anything we can to get him back to his rightful place.”

This is not the first time the head of Whitehaven Academy has left suddenly. Mr Turner’s predecessor, Philip Grant, left his post shortly before the end of the school year, in what was branded as a “shock announcement” at the time.

Copeland MP Trudy Harrison said: “There have now been a succession of headteachers under Bright Tribe’s management, too many have disappeared without so much as a goodbye. I fail to understand why on earth Mr Turner would make a decision to resign without thanking his team, without wishing his students well and without allowing our school community to show their gratitude for his dedication.”

A public meeting has been called by the action group on Thursday at 7pm at Whitehaven Golf Club.

It is understood that questions will also be raised around the alleged advertisement of a position as headteacher for the school by Cumbria Education Trust (CET), which is due to take over from Birght Tribe next month.

A spokesman for CET said: “Neither Bright Tribe nor CET placed, or instructed any agency to place an advert for an interim headteacher post. Unfortunately, misleading information has been put into the public domain which suggests that Mr Turner’s post was being advertised. This is simply not the case.” She added CET would not take part in the meeting but an observer would attend to hear issues raised.