THE principal of the new Accrington Academy has been appointed.

Andrew Bateman, the current headteacher of Accrington Moorhead Sports College, which the academy will replace.

The academy is set to open in the existing Moorhead site in Queen's Road West in September.

It is being sponsored by United Learning Trust, a Northamptonshire-based Christian educational charity which already operates 13 other academies.

A public consultation over the plans ended in December, when unions slammed Lancashire County Council for approving them.

Academies have sparked controversy nationwide due to the fact they are privately run, but mostly state funded.

Unions have expressed concerns over the loss of local democratic control, and implications for the curriculum.

But county council says that an academy will increase diversity in the area and build on Moorhead's improvements in recent years.

Mr Bateman, who has been at Moorhead since 2001, said he was very excited by the opportunity to lead the academy.

He said: "I have been closely involved with the United Learning Trust over the past year in developing this proposal and I am delighted to have the chance to take forward what we have been planning."

The 1,150-place academy will have a joint specialism of maths and sport and include a 250-place sixth form, making it the only major A-Level centre in Hyndburn.