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CITY ACADEMIES

This page is currently being rewritten

Kent and Medway schools have suffered from a historically low level of investment into school buildings. However, in recent years there has been a transformation of many premises, to produce schools of which we can be proud, a tribute to the investment policies of both Councils. Using programmes such as Private Finance Investment and Building Schools for the Future, the pace of redevelopment is increasing in line with government targets to replace all secondary schools in the next twenty years. However, as each new school flourishes, alongside it there is too often a school that is not so fortunate, often which has worked hard to achieve high standards, that then suffers by comparison. An unfair world, where many children benefit whilst others are at good schools that go into decline!

Further these two initiatives rely on Private Finance, which needs to make a profit, and so they face uncertain financial futures in terms of running costs. What happens at the end of the borrowing term?

City Academies are certainly the flavour of the day, bringing much needed funds from government to build new premises often on fresh sites. They also need to attract sponsors who put up a small proportion of the total costs, and can be independent of the Local Authority, often being controlled by the sponsors. No longer do they offer sponsors the opportunity for honours!

City Academies were originally designed to replace failing schools in socially deprived urban areas, but the concept is changing fast and now even some prestigious Independent Schools, fallen on hard times are becoming Academies in other parts of the country. Academies do not need to follow the National Curriculum.

So far there is no convincing evidence that they raise standards, although they often do well by attracting more able pupils. Others (not in Kent) have been spectacular failures. I consider that Kent has generally used the concept well, attracting investment into the county and maintaining a level of influence that is lacking in some Academies elsewhere. However, Local Authorities are required to have less than 20% of the board members or voting power on the Board of Governance of an Academy.

News on Academies (the 'City' appears to be being quietly dropped) is coming thick and fast. My apologies if this page (like others is not as up to date as I would like). Please let me know if I have missed anything.

Medway Council has announced that it is proposing to close the usually oversubscribed successful girls' Chapter School and the poorly performing boys' Temple School and replace them with a City Academy built on a new site. Parents of girls who have sent them to Chapter because it was single sex are upset with good reason, with some proposing to take their children away if it combines with Temple. Medway Council has falling rolls and will need to close at least one secondary school, but you don’t get rid of successful schools. There are alternatives. The new school will be mixed and will almost certainly have a smaller roll than the current combined numbers, so some girls who would normally gain places will in any case be denied them.

The first two Kent City Academies are well thought out and properly planned, with Sponsor Roger De Haan, the philanthropist former head of Saga insurance, sponsoring both. The Academies are the Marlowe Academy in Margate and the Folkestone Academy, both replacing failing schools. Folkestone Academy is also sponsored by King's School, Canterbury.The downside - there usually is one - is that both schools have put other neighbouring schools under pressure as they attract pupils away from them, so in Margate in particular, there are large numbers of empty places in other schools whose existence is now under threat.

Meanwhile, the Marsh Academy has replaced the Southlands School in New Romney, certainly not urban not failing and not socially deprived! Sponsors this time are Microsoft who presumably want to use the school as a test bed for their ICT developements, picking up on KCCs educational link with the company. Also Tonbridge School is a sponsor, the assumption being that very rich Independent Schools catering for highly able and wealthy pupils have skills which transfer to the management of state schools. You will find a few details at Marsh. Incidentally, for an Academy sponsored by an ICT company, this website is remarkably minimalisitic.

The struggling Senacre and Oldborough Manor Schools were replaced by single Academy on the Odlborough Manor site in September 2007, in a Federation with the Cornwallis School, an outstandingly successful school also became an Academy with a role to support the new combined one. This is, apparently, a recipe for succcess, despite the fact that Cornwallis School has had the same role for over five years in its previous incarnation, without any conspicuous success! The new Academy is called New Line Learning.

The new Spires Academy replacing the failing Montgomery School in Sturry opened in September. Its proposed admission number is 120, smaller than most recommendations for secondary school sizes. A website giving information is at Spires. The school is sponsored by Crown Imperial and Holiday Extras, two Kent businesses.

Marlowe Academy was right, Folkestone Academy was right – although not cities they fulfilled the other criteria (sponsored by Roger De Haan – one of the good guys).

Marsh Academy in New Romney fulfils none of the criteria.

The new Academy at Sturry certainly replaces a failing school, Montgomery, but it only has 300 pupils, is it even necessary? Apparently a very small Academy is an untried concept.

I am starting to receive reports underlining one of the main drawbacks of City Academies, lack of accountability. Parents unhappy with provision are finding it impossible to get satisfaction and there is no one else to turn to, as the Local Authority has no influence or control over the internal running of the establishments. The correct route is via the DFCS, although as they are very supportive of Academies, this is unlikely to achieve results. The Local Government Ombudsman has no role with City Academies, as they do not come under the aegis of Local Authorities. Parents who send their children to Academies need to understand the risks, although for most it may well be the best option available.