Academies to go ahead

CRAMPED: A CLASS of 32 students is shoehorned into an old classroom at Hathershaw Technology College — a scene set to remain the same after Oldham’s ambitious £266 million plan to rebuild or refurbish all the borough’s secondary schools by 2014 was left in tatters

Schools will open, but new buildings under review

OLDHAM’S three new academies will open their doors in September.

That is the message to parents and pupils despite the Government calling a halt to the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to replace or refurbish every secondary in England by 2020.

The bombshell left the borough’s £266 million plans to overhaul all of its crumbling secondary schools in tatters.

The plans for three new academy buildings — due to be completed in 2012-13 — are now under review, while the new Catholic secondary is in doubt and the projects to rebuild or refurbish other secondary schools have been axed altogether.

However, deals have already been signed with sponsors to open the academies in the five existing schools they are replacing in September.

They will go ahead as planned, meaning Grange School becomes Oldham Academy North, sponsored by Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust.

At the same time, Breeze Hill and Counthill will become Waterhead Academy, run by Oldham College, while Kaskenmoor and South Chadderton will be replaced by the Oasis Academy.

They have also vowed to push for the millions of pounds needed to build their new schools which they then hope to move into in Royton, Waterhead and Hollinwood respectively.

Artist’s impressions of the Oasis Academy, the first of the trio due to open, were unveiled in May. They feature stunning colour-changing panels and a large agora, an open space for socialising, performances, presentations and assemblies.

Principal John Alder said: “Oasis Academy will be open for business as expected in September.

“We have had really successful staff training, we have measured the children for their free, new uniform and they arrive at the beginning of term as Oasis Academy students on the two sites.

“We were expecting that for the next two years, then we just have to hope we get our new building. Our children really deserve it and we are going to battle really hard to make sure they do.

He added: “I am really disappointed about the wider BSF because our academy is part of an Oldham-wide plan around raising standards across the borough.

“We think there is a really strong case for our academy, for all three academies, the impact a new building will have on a deprived community, on young people’s aspirations and community cohesion.”

Waterhead Academy principal David Yates stressed that it was all systems go while Oldham College principal Alun Frances added: “It is too early to second guess what the review of academy projects might bring, but we remain optimistic that Waterhead Academy has a strong case for progressing as planned.”

A spokesman for Edutrust added: “We remain entirely committed to the project.

“We do believe there is a strong case for the academies’ new buildings in Oldham as part of the wider transformation programme. However, we must see what the new criteria is and work with Oldham Council and the Department for Education to put forward a reasoned business case.”