Drayton Academy - letter to Banbury Guardian

2.11.18pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 13th Jun 2006

The County Council cabinet last week agreed to proceed with the closure of Drayton School, subject to a formal advertising process, and to replace it with an Academy on the same site. This was seen as the only way to obtain the funds needed to provide a new school as the Labour government had refused to support it.

The Academy will be sponsored by the United Church Schools Trust, with financial support coming from Vodafone. The consultation results showed considerable concern that Banbury School was not getting any funds to improve its buildings and that the academy will be independent of the local authority.

I asked for reassurances that the Academy would be working with the other schools in Banbury, and that the admissions policy would be that of the County Council, with no selection of any kind. Liberal Democrats are opposed to the establishment of independent schools such as academies or trust schools as the government is proposing in the new Education Bill, believing that the right policy is for all schools to be within the same system and catering for all children in the area.

The Conservative cabinet was clearly happy with the proposals and agreed to look for funds to support Banbury School. It was encouraging that the admissions criteria were adjusted to include some rural areas as had been requested, and that the sponsors undertook to work in partnership with other schools, both primary and secondary.

We certainly hope that the new school, whether or not it retains the 'academy' name, lives up to the high hopes of its sponsors and improves the educational opportunities for children in the area.

Yours faithfully

Cllr Jean Fooks

Shadow cabinet member for children and young people