PARENTS of pupils at a leading Merseyside school were today staging a protest amid a row over the future of its board of governors.

The demonstration was taking place from 12pm outside Calday Grange grammar.

In January last year, the 1,450-pupil school, in West Kirby, became the first in Wirral to become a trust, meaning it withdrew from the local council network.

It enlisted representatives from the University of Liverpool, Unilever and Maestro Services Ltd to share expertise and contribute to its governance.

But Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove gave an ultimatum to the existing governors to form a new board containing trust representatives, which was not carried out.

In addition, headteacher Andrew Hall remains suspended under mysterious circumstances, a point alluded to by Mr Gove, and his disciplinary hearing will take place this week.

But parents fear his medical condition means he will be unable to attend, nor will he have union representation, and campaigners last night described the forthcoming hearing as a likely “kangaroo court”.