New shadow on academies

OLDHAM has been urged to ditch its proposed academies after a new study cast doubt on their effectiveness.

Researchers found that academies run by private companies, entrepreneurs, universities, churches and charities boosted GCSE performance compared with the struggling comprehensives they replaced.

However other poorly performing schools in the same areas recorded similar increases according to a report by the London Schools of Economics (LSE).

Its centre for economic performance studied the results of 27 academies which opened between 2002 and 2006.

It found that schools increased their performance by 9.6 to 14.1 per centage points.

But its report added: “These results look less impressive when benchmarked against other poorly performing matched schools which did not become academies.

“Overall these changes in GCSE performance in academies relative to matched schools are statistically indistinguishable from one another.”

Breeze Hill, Counthill, Grange, Kaskenmoor and South Chadderton schools will be replaced with three academies as part of Oldham’s £230million Building Schools for the Future overhaul.

Stuart Paulley from Oldham Campaign Against Academies (OCAA) said: “The LSE report does not mention the fact that the council schools do not receive the same level of funding as academies.

“In addition there is no attempt to analyse the schools’ intakes: figures OCAA has previously provided show that many academies alter their intakes to improve their chances of good GCSE results.

“We do not understand why the council will not listen to Oldhamers’ views, not even the result of its own survey which showed that residents do not want the schools to be closed.

“To continually ignore all the evidence on academies and to proceed with plans in direct contravention of voters’ wishes merely reinforces the view that most politicians — local and national — are more interested in exercising power than in carrying out the wishes of the electorate.”