Malton School has launched a consultation on proposals to become a faith academy.

Parents are being asked for their views on re-establishing the school as Malton Grammar School and reinstating its historical links with the Church of England.

The school changed its name in 1971, when the former grammar school merged with Malton Secondary Modern School, and was a church school from 1547 up to the opening of the new buildings on Middlecave Road in 1911.

Headteacher Rob Williams said the government had made it clear that they expected most schools to become academies and it would not be to the advantage of Malton School to be at the back of the pack.

“It is now clear that there is no status quo option; if we stay as we are, most other schools will be making moves and the landscape will not be the same in 12 months time,” he said.

“The one certainty is that we will be in a more competitive environment and we must position ourselves to deal with that most effectively.”

Mr Williams said the move would allow the school to strengthen its position by re-branding in a way that further emphasises the traditional, academic nature of the school.

He said: “We have demonstrated a strong commitment to partnership and collaborative work over recent years and we believe that a re-connection with the Church family of schools offers the best prospect of a genuine network that will sustain and strengthen us in the years to come.

“Malton School still retains strong elements of its ethos that can be traced back to its history as a church foundation from 1547 to 1911.

“In discussion with senior education officers from the Church, we feel that our existing aims and ethos match up closely and that a formal link will add value to our work.”

Mr Williams said the school’s governing body would take ownership of the land and buildings and would have increased freedom to plan improvements to the site without being restricted to using the local authority’s preferred contractor.

“Governors hope that parents will see the good sense in the proposal, will appreciate that the intention is to protect and improve the position of the school in the future to the benefit of students, staff, parents and the local community and will consequently give it their full support,” he said.

“They would also like to offer reassurance that there would be no intention to attempt to become a selective grammar school and there would be a phased transition period for the faith-based link in recognition of the fact that current students and their parents have not chosen the school as a faith school.

“The governors are keen to recommend this proposal to parents as a strong vision for the future of the school – one in which we can enhance the traditional, academic education provided by a typical Yorkshire day grammar school with a faith backing. It will strengthen the ethos while further raising standards and providing the freedom and flexibility governors require to improve the facilities of the school for the benefit of all.”

However, parent Philippa Hare said that the move was based on a lack of understanding of how different people perceive organised religion.

“Faith schools remove the freedom of young people to be educated together in a neutral secular space and to make up their own mind about faith – these schools are free to teach only one religion, and teach it as fact, to teach sex and relationships from a religious vantage point and to teach unscientific perspectives such as creationism and intelligent design,” she said.

“Malton will no longer have its genuinely inclusive and secular local community school and the only choice for those who do not identify with the Church of England, or even with any organised religion, will be either to turn a blind eye and sign up to its ethos or to find another school outside our community.”