Headteacher Drew Povey, who appeared on TV show Educating Greater Manchester, has spoken out about his 'shock' resignation.
Povey, who was head at Harrop Fold School in Little Hulton, Salford, told The Times that he was left 'feeling like a criminal' because of a 'personal vendetta' he claims the local council has against him.
The headteacher managed to bring the school from what one government official called 'the worst school in the country' back in 2003, to being ranked as 'good' by Ofsted.
However, he resigned last month after he was suspended for 'administrative errors'.
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According to the Daily Mail, the investigation is believed to have centred on claims that the school had taken the names of pupils with poor academic records off the register, in an attempt to make it look as though the school was doing better than it was.
Speaking to the Times magazine, Povey said leaving the school had felt 'like a bereavement'.
"It has been hard because it has felt heavy-handed and it has felt unfair," he said.
"How did we end up here after everything that has been done at the school, everything we put into it?
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"It has been like a bereavement, this, but all I care about - I have never been motivated by money - is that the school should not slip back. Those kids in that community do not deserve that.
"And all this uncertainty and instability, all this lack of clarity...it just cocks it all up."
He went on to say that he had admitted to the 'administrative error', but denies any wrong doing and says it wasn't an attempt to make the school look like it was performing better than it actually was.
At the time of his resignation, he posted a long statement to his Twitter account, in which he said he could 'no longer sit quietly' over the matter.
He claims Salford City Council have a 'personal vendetta' against him, something which the council denies.
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Salford City Councillor, Lisa Stone, lead member for children's and young people's services, told the Times: "I am disappointed that Mr Povey has made public some details of a confidential governor's investigation.
"The council completely refutes the allegation that this is a personal vendetta or that Mr Povey was ever offered money to 'walk away'.
"In my experience governors do not launch investigations and suspend senior members of staff for mere administrative errors."
Some parents at the school have begun a campaign to get him reinstated, with a petition gaining nearly 1,500 signatures and growing.
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