Workers' Liberty

Gordon Brown and Ed Balls will continue to accelerate the academies programme. The fake concern Balls expressed about some schools flouting admissions procedures acts as sand in our eyes as he and Brown increase selection through academies, trust and foundation status.

A hundred people attended Heartsease High School in Norwich to launch a campaign against proposals to turn the school into Norwich’s first City Academy. The meeting was chaired by local Labour MP Ian Gibson, who has come out firmly against the Academy. The Division Secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the region’s NUT Executive member were there, along with local teachers, parents (and some students), councillors and governors.

"We hope the website will provide a forum for the latest news, information and discussion about Academies. The website is there to provide support and publicity for the growing number of local campaigners."

By a teacher

The Anti-Academies Alliance Conference was held at the Institute of Education on Saturday 25th November. Over 200 teachers, headteachers and young people attended the event to discuss the ongoing and escalating fight against the recently voted Education and Inspections Bill which allows private institutions to run state funded schools. The flagship policy is encapsulated by the City Academy, which allows wealthy backers to set the ethos and "adapt" the National curriculum to their prejudices.

This union notes

1. The recent visit by Tony Blair to Quintin Kynaston school in North London in the midst of speculation over his leadership of the Labour Party and future as Prime Minister.
2. The growing opposition to government policy on trust schools, privatisation and war in Iraq and Lebanon.

Thursday September 7 2006

Many of you will be aware that Prime Minister Tony Blair and Education Secretary Alan Johnson are visiting our school today. They are here to celebrate their new agenda for education in England. QK school will be at the forefront of the first wave of 20 or 30 schools to be removed from local democratic control and handed over to big business and religious organisations as "Trust Schools" - as outlined in the recently passed Education and Inspections Bill 2006.

The sponsor for one of Nottingham's three proposed Academies has been announced. All along the City Council reassured us that the sponsors would be ‘respectable’ – hinting at the possibility of the University Hospital stumping up come cash. So far it’s been difficult to motivate much reaction against the proposals but like manna from heaven the announcement was made.

“Ah, good morning Mr and Mrs Smith; and this must be little Leo,” gushed the unctuous, gowned and mortar-boarded Principal. Try as he might, he could barely prevent the tone of disdain edging into his voice as their shabby collective appearance suggested unsuitability from the outset. Had they been parents of the more promising sort he would have shepherded them on their carefully selective guided tour himself, but this was a task for Bonehead, his stupid, sycophantic, self-serving underling.

Rally from 19:00 at Central Hall, Westminster

By Tom Unterrainer

The Department for Education and Skills has pulled off an astonishing act. They've managed to convince Nottingham City Local Education Authority (LEA) to effectively write itself out of responsibility for secondary education in the city - and all by promising "record" investment.

by Janine Booth

Hackney desperately needs more secondary school places.

Around 40% of youngsters go out of the borough to secondary school. This is a totally unacceptable situation which causes stress to our kids and our families.

A national campaign has been launched against City Academy schools. These are (usually new) schools which are, in return for minimal financial sponsorship are managed entirely by businesses or religious groups outside of any local community control. The campaign wants to press the TUC, the NUT and other teaching unions to launch a national conference and demo as agreed at last month’s TUC conference.

From Del-Boy Trotter's flat in Nelson Mandela House to the CLR James library here in Hackney, you would like to think that if a public building carried a person's name, it was a tribute to some contribution they had made to humanity.

But now, you can get your name over the portal by making a different sort of contribution - of the monetary variety. How? Sponsor an Academy.

Tom Unterrainer reports from Nottingham

Despite all the critical reports, investigations and public opposition the Government appears more determined than ever to press ahead with City Academies. It seems that for each concern raised about the scheme, an “innovation” is announced. The latest idea is to give one school away for every three purchased — so if you’ve got six million pounds to spare you can buy yourself half a local education authority at a bargain price.

An update from 'Hackney Solidarity'.

• Hackney schools under threat - stop the replacement of Homerton College of Technology with an academy

• Round One to the Residents - community fightback forces Council U-turn on estate privatisation

Local school Homerton College of Technology faces the chop as academy-mania grips the borough's Learning Trust.

The Trust is 'consulting' on the future of the school, but has made it clear that it thinks that the only real option to to close Homerton and replace it with an 'academy'.

Nearly 100 people attended a public meeting opposing the proposed closure of local school Homerton College of Technology and moves to create more academies in Hackney.

Read a detailed report here and download a leaflet advertising the protest on June 30th here.

ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) is a “charitable” trust supported and run by a group of investment bankers and hedge fund speculators who are seeking to become the sponsors of a number of city academies in London, including one which will be based on the current sites of Islington Green and Moreland schools and others in Lambeth and Westminster.

Schools Minister David Milliband demonstrated the Government's adoration of business involvement in schools when he declared that every FTSE company ought to become a sponsor for state secondary schools.

From 'Hackney Solidarity' April 2005 issue, for Aspland & Marcon estates

• School gates closed?

• Rents up again
• Pensioners cheated
• Recycling cash
• Re-open our youth club

At the recent National Union of Teachers conference, delegates voted to fight the Government’s planned expansion of the Academy programme.

Notes from a discussion at a North London AWL branch meeting, introduced by Jean Lane.

What are the reasons for the growth in the movement for single-faith schools?
Why do socialists oppose this?

By Mathew Bailey

Parents, teachers and students of Northcliffe School, serving Conisbrough and Denaby near Doncaster, have recently stopped their school from being turned into an academy run by a religious organisation, the Emmanuel Schools Foundation (ESF). This is the first time proposals for an academy have been overturned. It is, as the Yorkshire Post put it, a “huge blow to Blair”.

By Joan Trevor



Parents and teachers of Northcliffe School, serving Conisbrough and Denaby near Doncaster, are fighting to keep their school… and to keep it from Christian fundamentalists.