Lib-Dems out to kill academies claim

THE chairman of governors at a school which is to be replaced by an academy has accused Oldham’s Lib-Dem administration of trying to kill the scheme.

But the party has countered by dismissing the criticism as mischief-making and political point-scoring.

Former Labour councillor Joe Fitzpatrick, chairman of governors at Breeze Hill, launches the attack in today’s Chronicle’s letters page (Page 6).

The school is one of five due to be replaced with three academies run by sponsors under the £230 million Building Schools for the Future plans to overhaul its Oldham’s crumbling high schools.

Mr Fitzpatrick, chairman of Oldham District Labour Party, says the Lib-Dems have taken part in protests against academies and are encouraging opposition.

“It is accepted among the educational establishment in the North-West that Oldham Lib-Dems are killing the scheme,” he claimed.

“They are deliberately going to miss the deadlines set by the Government, and reject this massive investment in our children’s future.”

The Lib-Dems say that the consultation carried out by Labour on the proposals was inadequate, and a further round will be held next month.

Councillor Kay Knox, cabinet member for children, young people and families, insisted claims that the party is killing the scheme are not true, and said that everything is going to schedule. She pointed out that Labour had delayed the statutory consultation from last autumn to May and added: “All we have done is to build in more consultation with more people because that is where Labour failed miserably.

“This is just mischief-making and political point-scoring.

“I have worked incredibly hard to make sure that the people of Oldham have a voice. If Labour don’t like that, then tough.”

Councillor Knox, who took part in an anti-academy march in January of last year, explained: “In the first phase of academies most of them were run by business.

“We were very much against that because business should not be running our educational establishment.

“We were also against academies because they were impinging greatly on our sixth form.

“All academies thus far have been 11 to 18 and we have fought against that.

“But we also gave Labour praise when praise was due because they worked hard to get us academies that did not give us business sponsors and were not 11 to 18.”

Mr Fitzpatrick also claimed that the owners of the former Diggle pallet works site — touted as a likely location for a new Saddleworth School — had been told that the plans had been delayed for two years.

One of the owners, Phil Wiggett, said he could not comment, but that timescales had not been talked about.