The case for schools acquiring academy status has been well argued for by the interested parties.

Academies make good sense for a number of reasons. First, parents in Harrow have exceptionally high expectations of their children’s academic achievement. That private tutoring thrives in Harrow confirms this Second, “good” and “outstanding” schools refer to Ofsted grades, which do not always correspond to the educational standards achieved.

Also, narrowing the gap between those who achieve well and those who don’t has been an ongoing target for the borough. There is therefore room for improving the work of schools, which no doubt would be helped by more and better resources With more freedom and more control over their own, academies are better placed to achieve improvements.

Firstly by devising the curriculum that suits the range of abilities and interests of pupils and teaching it effectively and efficiently. The conventional or national curriculum is not always appropriate or adequate to stretch the gifted and talented or pupils or to inspire less able pupils Secondly, academies can achieve improvements by developing and deploying staff best fitted to carry out the work of an individual school Regarding the somewhat politically motivated alarm the ‘family of Harrow schools’ would break up, the relationships between the feeder and receiving schools would improve and develop further, because it would be in the best interest of all to cultivate a stronger ethos of high standards in education, develop better mutual support and work most efficiently. Strong relationships would also be sustained for maintaining the pastoral and academic care across the phases.

Working in and with the communities, the academies, based on the model of well achieving education establishments like the grant maintained schools of the recent past, would of course be directly accountable to their clients.

Councillor Husain Akhtar
Additional inspector of schools (retd)