Oxford School - Academy Proposal Badly Handled and We Should be Consulting on All Options

4.36.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 15th Sep 2009

Cllr Altaf-Khan today raised a number of concerns about the proposal to carry out a feasibility study into making Oxford School into an academy.

Speaking at today's Cabinet meeting he first condemned the way the proposal has been handled so far, and pointed out that even the local councillors only found out about it via the newspapers.

He also felt that pressing ahead with an academy in an area of east Oxford where there is already one - which has not yet proven itself entirely - was generally a bad idea that would actually reduce choice for local parents. He called instead for the feasibility study to look at all options, not just the academy route, and to involve all the parents and the local community. The study should also consider the effect on the other local secondary schools.

Altaf said, "Academies are not something that Liberal Democrats particularly support - we prefer that schools stay within the local education 'family' and under local authority democratic control. That's why we want the report to look at all possible options for improving Oxford School, not be dogmatic about turning it into an academy. A number of concerns have been expressed by local people about the academy idea and we will all need convincing that the academy is the only possible option. At present, we don't think it is."