Press release
For immediate release
New regime fails flagship school
Ofsted deems Lancing academy ‘inadequate’
A Sussex school at the forefront of the government’s academies programme has been judged to be ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted and placed into special measures.
The Sir Robert Woodard Academy – formerly Boundstone Community College – has seen GCSE results dip in the two years since the institution was sold at a knockdown price of £1.2m (after tax relief) to Woodard Schools – the UK’s largest group of independent Church of England schools. The report also found that teaching was ‘weak’ and that pupils were receiving misleading feedback.
Principal Carole Bailey has been dismissed, amid persistent allegations she employed her husband as a £500-a-day consultant to improve grades in the English Department, even though he failed to achieve this with any of the pupils in his own class. Woodard’s silence on this subject will surely lead to a Freedom of Information request.
In contrast to the academy’s poor Ofsted report, Boundstone’s last inspection in 2006 found it to be on a steady upward curve and in subsequent years the school was twice awarded the accolade “one of the most improved schools in the country” by the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust.
Ex-Head of Humanities Tim Rose – who taught at both schools for a total of 40 years – said of the situation: “If this is an example of the DNA of the private sector being injected into the State system, as the academies programme was described by its advocates, then I think we could well do without it.”
Stephen Love, Boundstone Headmaster from 1970 to 1994, said: “Many of us gave the best part of our working lives to build Boundstone into one of the best state schools in the country, not just in terms of league tables but many other aspects. Unfortunately, it’s understandable that parents have a negative feeling about the present situation and I find it profoundly shocking. It needs strong, dedicated leadership with clear values and goals to turn it around, but it’s not going to happen in a short period of time.” He went on to add that Boundstone regularly featured in The Good State Schools Guide in the 1980s and 1990s.
Alasdair Smith, National Secretary of the Anti Academies Alliance commented: "The case for academies is not proven. There are other 'failing' academies. It explodes the myth that they are a magic bullet for school improvement. Unfortunately, government ministers remain transfixed with academies for ideological reasons. It is part of an agenda to de-regulate and privatise state education, in much the same way the NHS is being privatised. We urge parents, teachers and anyone who is concerned about education to join us in opposing academy conversions and free schools."
ENDS
For more details contact Peter Styles (journalist and ex-Boundstone pupil) on 07946 825926 or pstymail@yahoo.com or Tim Rose on 07888 844746 or timrose@uwclub.net. Contact Pete Jackson office@antiacademies.org.uk or 07528 201697 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 07528 201697 end_of_the_skype_highlighting for a national perspective on the effect of academies upon our children’s education.
