A headteacher who turned around the fortunes of a struggling Oxford School has been head-hunted to run Britain's worst comprehensive.

Ian Johnson, 44, joined Oxford School in Glanville Road, east Oxford, in 1998 and helped transform it into the thriving Oxford Community School.

Now he has been appointed to the £100,000 a year job of headteacher at the £27m Marlowe Academy in Ramsgate, Kent, which will replace the existing failing school, The Ramsgate School.

The high-profile head, who wrote a regular column for the Oxford Mail's Schools Extra supplement, is getting an inflation-busting £27,000 pay rise.

When he came to Oxford School, the upper school for 13 to 18-year-olds had serious weaknesses according to inspectors in 1998, the year Mr Johnson took over.

Under the reorganisation of the city's middle schools, pupil numbers at the school doubled from 630 to 1,150, and in 2001 the school, for pupils aged 11-18, was described as a "rapidly improving and effective school that gives good value for money".

Mr Johnson said this success was not down to his contribution alone and praised teachers and support staff.

However, education inspectors have stressed that his leadership is "inspirational".

He is now looking forward to the new challenge.

He said: "Results have been poor at Ramsgate for some years and once the academy is up and running the Government will expect to see a radical transformation.

"They are not going to hire a new headteacher on a ludicrous salary in educational terms without expecting a significant change.

"The Government wants to see pupils achieving the national average, of 50 per cent of pupils achieving five GCSE A* to C grades in two to three years' time."

He added: "Taking over Oxford Community School was the biggest challenge of my career and I will be able to use my experience here at the new school."

Mr Johnson will leave Oxford Community School in August.

He will plan the running of the new academy for a year before it opens in September 2005.

School governors at Glanville Road were due to make a final decision regarding his successor on Friday.

Neil Fawcett, the county council's executive member for learning and culture, said: "Ian Johnson has done a terrific job at Oxford Community School and will be sadly missed.