A TROUBLED school is hoping to get back on track with the appointment of a new principal.

Unity City Academy, in Middlesbrough, which has one of the highest exclusion rates and worst exam results in the region, has been dogged by controversy since its conception two years ago.

Martin Lang, previously vice-principal of the Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham, takes over the school where he has been working for the past year as a Government-appointed school improvement advisor.

He said: "Already in my time at Unity I have seen that, whilst there some tough issues facing everyone involved with the academy, the students have huge potential and I see my task as ensuring that this potential can be released and that the children themselves value their achievements.

"I want to generate an ethos of hard work, mutual respect and high aspiration for each individual and the academy as a whole. It will not be easy, but I know from my experience at my previous school that it can happen.

"Unity is at the crossroads at the present moment. The proposed federation with Macmillan is very important because it will provide the opportunity for us to move forward on all fronts."

The 44-year-old, who is married with three children and holds a BSc mathematics degree, began his teaching career at Rawlins Community College in Leicester before moving to the then Djanogly City Technology College in 1990.

Chairman of the Unity Trust Board, Joe McCarthy, has welcomed the appointment and believes the school has now turned a corner.

He said: "We now have in place a leadership team which we believe can address the major management and financial issues facing the academy.

"There is no doubt that the past few months have been very tough indeed for all concerned."