A Burnley school which is less than half full has announced five prospective job losses - including an assistant headteacher.

Education inspectors also declared late last year that Hameldon Community College had ‘serious weaknesses’ - the third time in six years failings had been identified there.

And now voluntary redundancies are being sought at the Coal Clough Lane school, to plug a financial gap.

Angry teachers have contacted the Lancashire Telegraph, claiming that the job losses are down to falling pupil numbers and a ‘massive deficit’.

A Hameldon spokesman said: “Unfortunately owing to falling numbers on the school roll and other financial issues, we have asked staff to consider whether they would be interested in taking voluntary redundancy."

Headteacher Gill Broom said last November that she was ‘disappointed’ by Ofsted’s decision to cite the school as ‘needing improvement’, after areas of ‘outstanding’ teaching were pinpointed.

An action plan drawn up by Hameldon leaders and county education experts was also reported to be ‘robust’, by an Ofsted inspector last February.

But the school, formed by the merger of Habergham and Ivy Bank high schools, has been dogged by controversy since it was opened in September 2006.

Parents were disturbed to learn that police had been called to the premises nearly 20 times in its opening five weeks, dealing with at least five assaults and six incidents of rowdy behaviour.

Ofsted inspectors placed the school in ‘special measure’s before the first school year was out but Hameldon battled back.

However the school was then given a ‘notice to improve’ in July 2011, before the ‘inadequate’ rating of last year.

The current site at Coal Clough Lane was established with a reduced 750-strong capacity, but pupil numbers have been around 340.