Dr Matthew Baxter, head of the Simon Langton Grammar school for Boys in Canterbury, is to become interim executive head teacher at its beleaguered sister school.

Governors at the Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School formally appointed the 56-year-old at their meeting on Monday evening after negotiations between the school and Kent County Council's director of education, Patrick Leeson.

Dr Baxter says his initial focus will be to identify the issues that have plagued the Old Dover Road school and which sees its head teacher Jane Robinson depart amid allegations of bullying and financial irregularities.

Speaking exclusively to the Kentish Gazette, Dr Baxter said: "It will be my job to try to understand what the issues are that are facing the girls' school. I will do that by meeting with the students, staff, parents and governors.

"The school's problems have been well documented and now my focus is entirely on the future of the school."

Mrs Robinson will formally leave the school on April 30 after nine years in charge. In the last 18 months the school proposed and then ditched plans to form a multi-academy trust with the Spires Academy at Hersden.

Questions arose about the way it had gone about trying to convert to an academy and about Mrs Robinson's leadership style.

Education officers at county hall instructed Prof Ian Craig, formerly England's chief schools' adjudicator, to investigate the botched academisation process and listen to more than 200 grievances from staff and parents.

Dr Baxter, who has been head at the boys' school since 2001, insists he has not been given Prof Craig's report.

He said: "Prof Craig will doubtless brief me on some of the areas that he has considered and which he believes the school is falling short in.

"I have no interest in the particular issues connected to Jane Robinson. What I can say is that at no stage have I entertained the idea of the school becoming an academy and I see no reason not to continue as a local authority education school."

Dr Baxter describes his impending leadership of the Girls' Langton as "one step removed from the school" with his immediate subordinates running the day to day affairs.

Asked whether his additional role would lead to any kind of formal merger between the two schools, Dr Baxter said: "It's far too early to talk about things like that.

"What we are looking at is a collaboration between the two schools at a senior management level.

"Together we can work towards establishing a powerful and successful pair of schools."

Despite promising in the summer to operate in a climate of "openness and transparency", the school's chairman of governors Alisdair Chisholm continues to refuse to publish Prof Craig's report.