A primary school in Charlton has backtracked on becoming an academy following parent opposition.

Sherington Primary School wrote to parents in September to say it was considering leaving Greenwich Council’s control to join the Leigh Academy Trust.

Parents, teachers and councillors campaigned against the proposal, which left MP Matthew Pennycook “puzzled and concerned”, with an appeal being backed by more than 900 people.

The petition was handed in on Tuesday to bosses at the school, who have now written to say they have scrapped plans.

The letter, sent from the governing body, reads: “When we set out to explore the idea of academisation, and when we began a public conversation about the issue, we promised to make this choice in the best interests of children now and in the future.

“That meant choosing the option that gave us the best prospect of financial sustainability and stability; the strongest opportunities for the recruitment, retention and development of high quality staff; and the best chance of delivering a sustainable school in a changing environment.

“The governing body has concluded that while these challenges remain, we are better placed to address them as a local authority maintained school than as part of the Leigh Academies Trust.”

Governors voted unanimously at a special meeting on Wednesday, November 21 to stay as a maintained school.

The school, which is rated outstanding by Ofsted, originally said funding cuts meant it had consider its future.

One parent, who helped organise the petition, said it was good the community had been listened to.

Victoria Makepeace said: “It’s fantastic, it’s a positive outcome for the kids for teachers and parents. It’s nice to know the governing body has listened.”

Academies are publicly funded schools that are not under a council’s control, and have more power over pay and curriculum. They are funded by the government, not the local authority.

The Department for Education says the freedom academies have allows teachers to make the “right decisions for pupils and their communities”.

Greenwich Council recently committed to opposing academisations, and cabinet member for education cllr David Gardner said: "It is brilliant and very welcome news that Sherington Primary School governing body has voted to continue as an outstanding Royal Greenwich community school.

"Governors decisively rejected academisation and, after a long and rigorous process evaluating all the options, and decided the best partnership remained with the borough.

"My personal congratulations to the parents, staff and Charlton community who campaigned so effectively to stay “Greenwich and proud.”"

Despite the Chancellor announcing an influx of £400m for schools in his budget last month, funding per pupil is set to fall by eight per cent in real terms between 2014 and 2020 as a result of inflation.