Four academies to replace south London schools

The controversial city academy programme received a boost today with the announcement that four more are planned for south London.

Southwark is set to give the goahead for two new academies, bringing its total to four. Sources said Lambeth council was also poised to approve two academies in Brixton.

One academy in each borough will be sponsored by Ark, the international charity chaired by financier Arpad Busson, whose partner is Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson. The other two academies will be sponsored by Carpetright founder Lord Harris.

Lord Harris and other sponsors today pleaded for three years to prove that the schools - which are opposed by teacher unions and have been criticised in the media - can work. Critics say there is no evidence that academies are better than traditional comprehensives and claim that some are worse.

But Lord Harris said it was too early to judge. "All we ask is leave us alone for two years and then knock us like hell if we haven't improved," he said.

Academy sponsors, mainly multimillionaire businessmen, contribute up to ?2million towards start-up costs while taxpayers foot the rest of the bill, typically ?15 million-35 million per school. Sponsors appoint most of the governors and can influence curriculums by setting the school's area of specialist expertise. The most popular specialisms among existing academies are business, enterprise and technology.

Of the 17 existing academies, 10 are in London. The Government wants 200 academies operating by 2010.

Lord Harris became involved with the Conservative government's forerunners to the academies, City Technology Colleges. He sponsors Harris CTC in Croydon and the Academy at Peckham and plans to inject ? 2million into a Southwark academy due to replace Aylwin Girls' School.

Ark, which stands for Absolute Return for Kids and is controlled by London-based hedge fund millionaires, will sponsor a Southwark academy to replace Geoffrey Chaucer Technology College and the Joseph Lancaster Primary School.

Lord Harris's call for time was echoed by Sir David Garrard, sponsor of the Business Academy, Bexley, Sir Frank Lowe, sponsor of Capital City Academy in Willesden, Clive Bourne, who put ?2million into Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney and Sir Ewan Harper, chairman of the United Learning Trust, which opened the Lambeth Academy in Clapham last September.

All insist they became involved because they wanted to improve education in Britain's inner cities, not to "brainwash" children or take over state schools for profit.