MORE than half of respondents to a consultation about the future of Kelsey Park Sports College are in favour of it bringing in a sponsoring partner.

Of the 579 responses, 308 (53 per cent) said they wanted a sponsor with 36 people naming the Harris Federation of Academies as their preferred option.

However the consultation report said “a small number commented specifically that they did not want Kelsey Park to become a Harris Academy”.

Fifty-one per cent also called for a change to the status of the school with 54 per cent of these respondents favouring an academy.

Some respondents called for rebranding claiming the use of the word 'sports' in the school's name suggested there was no emphasis on academic achievement.

Others however felt this would make no difference and was simply "spin".

The two-month consultation was launched by Kelsey’s governors after campaigners Harris Into Beckenham petitioned Bromley Council to convert the Manor Way school in Beckenham into a Harris academy.

A total of 12,000 consultation documents were circulated with a response rate of just five per cent.

However the auditor said this was a "good" level of response.