Guest blog
by Ray Singh-Standids
If Copland was judged to be ‘failing’ at a 5 GCSE rate of 46%, what does that make Ark Academies’ effort of 31% only 2 years later? Ark would no doubt blame the 31% results on Copland’s teaching in earlier years. But that doesn’t stand up as Copland’s 46% was achieved in those exact same circumstances (arguably worse circumstances, in fact, as Copland’s 46% students hadn’t had the benefit of Ark Academies’ claimed excellence at ‘driving up standards’).
In 2014
Copland School was taken out of local authority control and forced to become an
academy. The reason given was that Copland,
(a school whose staff and students had suffered a unique period of mismanagement and corruption which resulted
in the sacking of the governing body and criminal charges against the
headteacher and his management team), was judged to be a ‘failing school’. The consequence of this judgement was forced
academisation, a move which parents, staff and students voted against but which
Cllrs Pavey and Butt publicly supported.
In 2014,
Copland’s last year, 46% of students obtained
5 GCSE subjects including English and Maths at grades A*-C . This followed
improvements of 3 percentage points for each of the previous 2 years despite
this being a period in which senior
management was helping the police with their enquiries and Ofsted inspectors
and other nuisances constantly cluttered up the classrooms hampering the continuity and flow of the educational
experience of staff and students.
Copland was
forced to become Ark Elvin Academy in September 2014. By the end of Ark Elvin’s first year the headline 5 GCSE figure had dropped from 46% to 36%. For 2016
the figure is apparently an even more
dismal 31%. Those figures again:
2012 Copland
School 5
A*-C inc English and
Maths 40%
2013 Copland
School 5
A*-C inc English and
Maths 43%
2014 Copland
School 5
A*-C inc English and
Maths 46%
2015 Ark
Elvin Academy 5
A*-C inc English and
Maths 36%
2016 Ark
Elvin Academy 5 A*-C inc English and Maths 31%
If Copland was judged to be ‘failing’ at a 5 GCSE rate of 46%, what does that make Ark Academies’ effort of 31% only 2 years later? Ark would no doubt blame the 31% results on Copland’s teaching in earlier years. But that doesn’t stand up as Copland’s 46% was achieved in those exact same circumstances (arguably worse circumstances, in fact, as Copland’s 46% students hadn’t had the benefit of Ark Academies’ claimed excellence at ‘driving up standards’).
So, what’s
to be done, Cllrs Pavey and Butt must surely be asking themselves. When
comprehensives ‘fail’ they’re forced to become academies, (with your enthusiastic
support, Cllrs Butt and Pavey). But Ark Elvin already is an academy. So when an academy ‘fails’ you’ve got a problem. Do you turn it back into a local authority
comprehensive? Not allowed, I’m afraid. But don’t worry, Cllrs, the Tories
have come up with another wheeze to help you out. Theresa May has said she’s going to
bring back grammar schools (for the very small percentage who pass the 11 plus exam). But for every
one grammar school she brings back, (though she hasn’t said this), she’ll have
to bring back three secondary modern
schools for the very large percentage who fail the 11 plus. And that’s where Ark Elvin comes in. Those
sharp hedge fund billionaires who run Ark Academies Inc know a business opportunity when they see
one and are probably already making
plans for this one. Expect the Ark
Secondary Moderns ‘charity’ to be announced within weeks with Ark Elvin as the
flagship model (after due consultation, of course) . Problem solved. Tories to the rescue
again, just like last time! And don’t worry,
Cllrs Butt and Pavey. You liked
forced academisation so you’re going to love
forced secondary modernisation! Magna Aude! (Or Big German Car as we’ll probably have to change the motto to
for the sake of those secondary modern
duffers).
