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| Have faith, academy is just
what we need |
Mother-of-five Martine Oborne believes the
new St Mary Magdalene Academy to be built in Islington deserves
parents’ support not hostility
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Martine Oborne outside the site of St Mary Magdalene Academy
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A NEW high-quality secondary school is to open in Islington in
2007. With 40 per cent of Islington’s secondary schoolchildren
receiving their education outside the borough, surely a new school
should be cause for celebration?
But judging from the reactions of many people in Islington, one
might have thought the proposal was to close a top school rather
than to launch a new one.
Why have there been so many objections to the new St Mary Magdalene
Academy? After thousands of parents in the borough have campaigned
for nearly 20 years for a new secondary school and, in particular,
a new Church of England secondary school, why is the project now
being greeted with so much suspicion and, in some cases, hostility?
Some say the school is too big – too many children will be
squeezed onto the site. Some say it will be too “churchy”;
others say it will not be churchy enough. And many just seem to
have an absolute loathing of “academies” in general.
Let’s look at each of these claims in turn. First, the school
will not be too big – either in terms of the overall numbers
or the ratio of children to space available. The number of children
who will attend the secondary departments is in line with the average
for all secondary schools and the numbers who will attend the rebuilt
primary school will remain as they are now.
The internal space per child is slightly more than that required
by government guidelines (and cash limits) and all the other secondary
schools in Islington will, in time, be rebuilt or refurbished in
accordance with those guidelines.
As for external space, it is true that there will be less on-site
external social and recreational space for secondary pupils than
would be ideal but other schools in Islington are in the same situation,
with many having even less external space per child than that proposed
for the new St Mary Magdalene Academy.
As far as the primary school is concerned, it will have the same
amount of external space as it does currently.
Second, although some of the funding for the project is being provided
(generously, I believe) by the Church of England, it will be a pre-dominantly
state-funded school and the majority of the children attending will
be selected on the sole criterion of the distance from their homes
to the school.
As a result, the school will be attended by children of all faiths
and none. The school will be primarily a Church of England school
not because it is exclusive to children from Christian families
or Christian primary schools, but because it will be founded and
managed with a strong Christian ethos.
Whatever people think about the principles of faith schools, there
is no doubt of the demand for places at Church of England schools.
Church schools are well run with a reputation for good pastoral
care and high morale. Their academic results are also significantly
higher than those of schools in general across the nation.
Third, the fact that the school will be designated an “academy”
seems, for some people, to put it beyond the pale. I understand
that many do not like the government’s policy in introducing
academies. They find the concept of business sponsorship in education
an anathema, but the Church of England is a non-profit-driven organisation
and it has been in the business of providing education since the
Middle Ages. And currently the Diocese of London ‘sponsors’
or oversees about 150 state schools.
There are, I am aware, some academies that may appear to be little
more than refurbished, rebranded failing schools – perhaps
destined to fail again, if too little thought has been applied to
why they were failing in the first place.
But St Mary Magdalene’s is a new secondary school and is being
sponsored by a team of experienced professionals who are committed
to making it a highly successful and inclusive school.
It seems a pity to me that political preconceptions and prejudices
are being employed in an unjustified way. You can be against the
principle of academies in general but how can you be against the
efforts of those who are trying to make a truly top-quality secondary
school in Islington for children of all abilities and faiths?
If Islington continues to provide insufficient places at schools
that parents believe will offer their children a good education,
then people will go on sending their children to better schools
outside the borough.
Some people will pay for a private education or move house to get
their children into a better school.
Others will pay for coaching to help their children get into the
many selective schools – in both the private and state sectors.
But many others – many parents who care just as much about
their children’s education – will be forced to make do
with what Islington has to offer.
Thankfully, from 2007 Islington will have another 180 secondary
school places available each year at St Mary Magdalene Academy.
That may not be the answer to all of our borough’s problems
in secondary school education, but it is a step in the right direction.
And well worthy of our whole-hearted support.
• Martine Oborne is a representative of the Diocese of London
on the Project Steering Board of St Mary Magdalene Academy. |
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