THE chairman of governors of the Chase school, Malvern, has refused to say why headteacher Richard Jacobs has been placed on leave.

When contacted this morning, Matt May sent the message that he had no comment to make on the matter.

A letter issued to all parents and carers and uploaded to the school's website yesterday says that the current deputy head, Mike Fieldhouse, has agreed to take over as acting head.

The letter, signed by Mr May, makes no mention of the reason for Mr Jacobs's absence on leave.

It means parents have still not been informed of the reason for Mr Jacobs's absence, or how long they will have to wait to see the situation resolved.

Mr Jacobs joined the school as head in September 2013, having previously been vice-principal at the Earls High School in Halesowen, Dudley.

During his time at that school, it achieved an outstanding rating from Ofsted, which was attributed to Mr Jacobs’ leadership, and he was also seconded to many neighbouring schools because of his experience in raising school standards.