Parents turn against city academy

A New Labour flagship policy to build a £30 million school in Tony Blair's Islington heartland is under attack - from the very parents supposed to benefit from it.

The row over the new city academy is embarrassing for Mr Blair, who sent his eldest son to a school several miles away instead to one of the borough's secondary schools.

The Government has pinned its hopes for transforming inner-city education on 200 new academies - effectively publicly funded independent schools - in a plan expected to cost about £5billion.

The campaign on Mr Blair's former doorstep is even more surprising given that Islington parents have long clamoured for a decent secondary school. Currently 40 per cent of parents send their children outside the borough.

The problem is that in order to build the new academy for children from nursery age to 19, one of London's best primary schools will have to be demolished.

The 210-pupil St Mary Magdalene primary school will replaced in 2007 by a 1,400-student academy specialising in "global citizenship". Though pupil numbers will rise sevenfold, the site will be only three times bigger.

Pauline Thomas, organising a petition against the Islington academy, said: "This is not in the interests of Islington's education system. Academies are failing. Why knock down a wonderful school to build a bog-standard one?"

The furore will put academies under the spotlight. There is growing concern that the reality falls short of the hype, and fears that they are too expensive and too big.

The first new creation, Bexley's ?31million Business Academy, held up by Mr Blair "as a beacon of hope and inspiration", was condemned in its first Ofsted report last year for "significant weaknesses" in teaching and learning. Bexley disputes those findings.

Last month Schools Minister Stephen Twigg conceded: "I think there are arguments about the size of very large schools and fears that they may become impersonal." Liberal Democrat education spokesman Phil Willis said: "New Labour preaches the whole business about prudence and criteria for success but will simply use £5billion for its own experiment."

Government adviser and education philanthropist Sir Peter Lampl said: "It is difficult to justify the expansion of a scheme which has not yet been thoroughly evaluated to 200 schools costing £5-6billion excluding land costs."

A straw poll of Islington parents on the school run at St Mary Magdalene showed a small majority against the academy.

"I am totally against it," said Jacqui Nathaniel, a gym instructor. Those in favour harboured reservations. "The site is too small. They will be taking away a lot of space for the children," said Rita Young.

Kerryann White said: "The majority are disappointed it is going to be a larger school than we were led to believe. And it's not to be a 100 per cent church school." Such intake will be restricted to 42 per cent.

But Tamzin Cuming is hopeful. "'I'm glad. We need a good secondary school in Islington," she said.

The Church of England, putting £2 million into the academy, has defended its proposal, which still needs planning permission. Tom Peryer, director of education for the diocese of London, said: "Any school reorganisation proposal is never smooth ... especially if we are making radical changes to a school. But what we are doing so far has addressed most [parents'] concerns."

John Stewart, headteacher of the primary school, backs the plan. He said: "I think more parents are in favour than against it. We are getting a brand new school. Our classrooms are bigger than we need at the moment. The primary part of the school will still be a small school. It will be run as a small school. It will have the same ethos as it does now."