The suspended headteacher of a Kent school is fighting a High Court battle, saying she feels like the victim of a ‘witch hunt’.

Helena Sullivan-Tighe was suspended from her £85,000-a-year post at the Community College Whitstable in November last year while an investigation is carried out to determine her future.

But lawyers on her behalf have now launched a legal action against the school’s governors and Kent County Council.

They claim in a High Court writ that her suspension and the disciplinary process so far have breached the terms of her employment contract.

The head’s legal team alleges that an independent report was altered and that she had not been given specific details of the reason for her suspension.

The writ states that she told a council-appointed investigator the action against her “felt like a witch hunt” and that she was not expecting the suspension “in any way, shape, or form”.

The move came after an independent review of the school’s performance, following “disappointing” exam results and Ofsted inspectors’ conclusion that the school “required improvement”.

Mrs Sullivan-Tighe is now fighting to have the suspension lifted and for the current disciplinary action to be stopped in its tracks.

Her lawyers say the correct procedures have not been followed and that, unless the court intervenes, the council and the governing body could continue the disciplinary process against her in breach of her employment contract.

They add in the writ: “The claimant stands to suffer irreparable damage unless the council and the governing body are restrained from acting as threatened.”

Without the court’s intervention, she faced “the possible loss of her current employment, her ability to find work in the teaching profession elsewhere, anxiety, distress and damage to her professional and personal reputation”.

The defence of the council and the governing body was not available from the court and the claims made in the writ have yet to be tested in evidence before a judge.

Mrs Sullivan-Tighe was hauled before the governing body in November and relieved of her duties while an independent investigation into her future within the role was carried out.

Recent poor exam results and “ongoing concerns” were cited as reasons for ordering an independent review of the school, which in March last year was rated as “requiring improvement” by Ofsted.

Then in the summer, just 28% of pupils achieved five GCSE grades at A* to C, including maths and English, compared to 39% in 2014.

The letter to parents explained: “As a consequence of the report’s findings, governors have considered further action they feel is necessary to support the College in raising achievement for all students.

“While the investigation takes place Mrs Sullivan-Tighe will be on a period of suspension from her duties as head teacher which will allow her to fully participate in the investigation process.”

Last month the school accepted an invitation to join the Swale Academies Trust.