Private school to become academy

The school says the wellbeing of existing pupils is paramount

A third independent school in England is to join the state sector as an academy, it has been announced.

The Girls' Day School Trust said Birkenhead High School in Wirral was to make the change after consultation.

It said Birkenhead would stay a girls' school, but "open up opportunities for more girls across a wide social band".

Schools Minister Andrew Adonis meanwhile launched a prospectus aimed at encouraging more private schools to be sponsors of academies.

He confirmed that, like universities and successful state schools, they would not have to meet the usual threshold of providing £2m in financial sponsorship.

Continuity

The new academy, if approved by the government following local consultation, would be the first "all-through" girls' academy - taking children from the age of three up to 18.

The chief executive of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST), Barbara Harrison, said the wellbeing of the children already at the school would be paramount through the negotiations.

"The new academy will also provide first class educational continuity for these students," she said.

"The new academy will also offer an exciting vision for the provision of first-class education for future generations of children living in the Wirral, including those who wouldn't normally be able to benefit from GDST's expertise.

"We have begun discussions with teachers, parents of children at the school, and other key local stakeholders, about the benefits and wider implications of the academy proposal and will keep them informed of key developments going forward."

Local MP Frank Field welcomed the move.

He said the movement into the state sector "blurs the sharp division between private and public education in this country which has worked to the detriment of so many children".

'Educational DNA'

So far The Belvedere School in Toxteth, which is also a GDST school, and William Hulme's Grammar School in Manchester have become academies.

Colston Girls in Bristol has ministerial approval to do so and talks are going on with Bristol Cathedral School.

Speaking at the independent sector Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference's annual gathering in Bournemouth, Lord Adonis said 23 private schools or foundations were now "engaged in" 47 academy projects.

He told the audience: "It is your educational DNA we are seeking, not your fee income or your existing charitable endowments.

"For an independent school wishing to extend its excellent provision more widely, an academy could offer a great opportunity.

"A large number of independent schools are already engaged, but all those with a contribution to make are welcome."

He said many independent schools believed that setting up an academy helped to fulfil the original vision of their founders, to provide excellent education for the whole community.

Woodard Schools, an education trust whose private schools include Lancing, Ardingly and Hurstpierpoint Colleges in West Sussex, has said it plans to sponsor three academies in the area in partnership with West Sussex County Council.

Deprivation

The general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Steve Sinnott, said the move to encourage private school sponsorship of academies was "extraordinary".

"I reject the implication that somehow private schools and the quality of teaching within them is better than that in state schools," he said.

"Day in, day out, teachers in schools in socially deprived areas make an enormous and positive contribution to the lives of their pupils.

"I have to wonder how private school academies are going to get any where near that kind of commitment and experience."

The acting head of education and policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Nansi Ellis, said academies should be returned to the control of local authorities.

But she added: "However, where academies exist, we would much rather see people with a real knowledge of education and running schools sponsoring them than those who regard education as a business the same as any other.?