Earlier this week, following a an imaginative and powerful campaign by
Islington teachers and parents, ARK a charity run by a group of bankers and
hedge fund speculators, pulled out of a year old scheme to create an
independent but state-funded academy on the sites of Islington Green and
Moreland schools.
ARK, CEA and the DfES are claiming this was because the academy plans had
turned out to be too complicated. It is funny nothing was said about this
publicly until this week. Indeed, only a couple of months ago on April 9,
ARK representatives and the head of Islington Green School told a community
consultation meeting how exciting the plans for the new school were. No
mention there or at other consultation meetings with school staff more
recently about complications.
What persuaded ARK to pull out was the campaign waged increasingly
effectively by parents and teachers in recent months to defend comprehensive
state education in Islington. We have held two successful public meetings,
protested on the steps of the Town Hall, petitioned, maintained a high
profile in the local and national press, planned to remake the Pink Floyd’s
“Wall”, changing “Hey! Teachers, leave those kids alone” to “Hey! Bankers,
leave those kids alone” and most recently demonstrated outside ARK HQ in
Westminster with two fat cats! Partly as a result of our campaign Moreland
governors voted a fortnight ago to reject the academy proposals and its
millionaire sponsors. This, perhaps, was the final straw.
We have won a battle but the war goes on. Already, there are suggestions
that a new sponsor is being lined for a new 11-19 academy on the Islington
Green site. The fight to stop St Mary Magdalene primary school being shut in
order to create a monster 1400 student 0-19 academy will go on, a fight will
include a demand that the adjudicator appointed to decide whether to close
the school or not, Elizabeth Passmore, should be disqualified both because
of her involvement in failing Islington Green School eight years ago against
the advice of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and because until recently she worked
for the company, GEMS, which owns 3Es, the project managers for the proposed
academy!
Academies will create a two-tier system of education based on social class.
This conclusion is one shared with the Parliamentary Select Committee on
Education and the Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy. They undermine
equal opportunities are unaccountable to the local community.
We call on Lib Dem council leader, Steve Hitchens, Islington’s two Labour
MPs Emily Thornberry and Jeremy Corbyn, CEA (the company which runs
Islington’s schools for the council) and the governors and heads of
Islington Green and St Mary Magdalene school to join with us in demanding
that the government provides the funding necessary to rebuild or refurbish
all Islington schools, without strings. We are told by supporters of the
academy plans that are children deserve better and we agree wholeheartedly.
In which case, should we allow them to become the victims of government
blackmail which threatens to refuse Building Schools for the Future funding
if Islington does not fall into line with its mad, evangelical free-market
cult, plans to set our schools on the path to privatisation? No we should
not. The government is prepared to give nearly £60 million to two private
sponsors to take over local schools. Let them instead hand the money over
directly so that all Islington children can benefit, not just the privileged
minority. Islington Council should immediately submit a new BSF bid which
includes both Islington Green and St Mary Magdalene schools and refuse to
accept any conditions that include the creation of city academies.
