FOUR teachers are to leave Darton High as part of a settlement reached following industrial action by NUT members.

Teacher and NUT representative at the school, Chris Page, told the Chronicle the decision was made after a series of strikes by NUT members over pay.

He said: "It follows the industrial dispute between teachers and school management earlier on in the year regarding loss of pay for some teachers. "Four NUT members have now been offered a settlement which is the type you cannot refuse. However, those teachers will stay until the end of their contract which is fixed until August 31 of this year."

The news comes after worried parents contacted the Chronicle saying they believed up to nine teachers could be leaving the school because of a growing rift between staff and school management.

One mum, who has two sons at the school, says her biggest concern is the impact supply teachers could have on the consistency of education. She said: "There seems to be a lot of supply teachers working there at the moment and as far as I'm concerned it's already having an effect on their education."

Headteacher Simon Hill told the Chronicle it is an exciting time for education in Barnsley, not least at his school. He said: "Every year a number of teachers retire or move to another job in another school. Most of these staff changes take place over the summer. "This year a few more staff are leaving than normal, and this occurs from time to time. Obviously, we wish all those staff a very happy retirement or success in their new jobs.

"The school has already recruited excellent replacements for many of those leaving and plans are well advanced to appoint others. "We are confident that we will be fully staffed in September, as we are now, as we welcome over 200 new students and move ahead with plans for the new Darton Advanced Learning Centre which is scheduled to open in 2010."