School denies academy claims

SADDLEWORTH School has denied union claims that it is planning to become one of the new wave of academies.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said that governors were meeting this week to decide whether to apply for the status.

But Councillor Brian Lord, chairman of governors, told the Oldham Chronicle: “We are not eligible to become an academy, you have got to be classed by Ofsted as outstanding.

“We did express interest in it for the long-term but that was all it was. We were just seeing what was involved — we have no plans to do it.”

Academies were a flagship policy of the previous government to turn around underachieving schools by handing them over to sponsors.

More than 60 of these “traditional” academies opened this term including three in Oldham.

Blue Coat has applied to become an academy while Saddleworth expressed an interest.

Both were hit when the Government halted the multi-billion pound schools rebuilding programme: plans to replace Saddleworth were axed along with refurbishment at Blue Coat.

Councillor Lord added: “We have got a governors’ meeting tomorrow but it is to look at the aftermath of the fact that we are not getting the new school.”