4 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH · 11-17 JUNE 2012

N E W S

Row over military-style schoolThe country’s largest teachersunion has vowed to step up acampaign against acontroversial military-styleschool planned for GreaterManchester.

The Phoenix Free School, runentirely by ex-militaryservicemen and women, hopesto open in Oldham next year –but could be forced to relocateto Rochdale or elsewherebecause of council opposition.

Driving forceNow one of the driving forcesbehind the Phoenix school,which will attempt to instil“martial values” in children, hasslammed standards in Oldham’sexisting secondary schools –prompting a union backlash.

US Navy veteran TomBurkard, a co-founder of thePhoenix school, said: “We knowthat Oldham Council has anextremely negative attitudeabout our school. They areafraid that it will take pupilsaway from existing schools.

“But any pupil coming fromthis area has virtually no chanceof getting an education that’s

suitable for admission to a top-quality university.”

Burkard wants to open theschool in September 2013. TheDepartment for Education (DfE)is expected to notify the schoolby mid-July whether it hasgovernment approval.

Burkard said: “We’rereasonably confident aboutgoing through because the DfEunderstands that we’ve had anenormous amount of mediapublicity and they alsounderstand that [educationsecretary] Michael Gove is verykeen on what we’re doing.”

However the discipline-focused school, which woulduse a mix of unqualified andqualified teachers who would betold to discard “every liberalshibboleth taught in teacher-training courses”, facesheightened protest from theNational Union of Teachers.

Avis Gilmore, the NUT’sNorth West secretary, said: “Weare stepping up our campaignagainst the free school inOldham. We fundamentallydisagree with the ethos and thebasis of this school.

“They’re making somedecisions that are going to havea huge detrimental impact onthe young people that theymight attract.”

Education revolutionFree schools are state-fundedand can be set up by groups ofparents, teachers, charities,trusts or other groups. They areaccountable to centralgovernment rather than the localauthority, and do not benefitfrom the help local councilsoffer mainstream schools infinding sites.

In April, it was revealed thatonly 35 of the 79 free schoolsapproved to open in 2012 hadsecured premises. Twenty-fourfree schools opened in 2011 aspart of the government’s so-called education revolution.

The founders of the Phoenixschool, which would be headedby army captain Affan Burki,admit it is proving “verydifficult” to find adequateproperties.

Their first choice location isBreezehill in Oldham, whileother potential sites includeKaskenmoor, South Chaddertonand St Augustine. OutsideOldham, two schools inRochdale – Hilltop PrimarySchool and BalderstoneTechnology College – are alsobeing considered.

A significant obstacle for thePhoenix school has come fromOldham Council, which hasrejected Burkard’s criticisms,adding that it sees “noevidence” the military-runschool is necessary.

Oldham councillor HughMcDonald, cabinet member foreducation and safeguarding,said: “We are proud of Oldham’ssecondary school offer, which isalready more diverse than mostother local authorities.

“We’ve had 11 years ofcontinuous improvement in ourGCSE results and have alsoclosed the gap on nationalstandards.

‘Open market’“Council officers have hadinitial meetings with Phoenixrepresentatives about theirproposed free school, but wehave no evidence at this stagethat supports the idea that thereare clear gaps and demandsunfulfilled by our currentsecondary school offer.

“Plans to sell school siteswhich are set to become vacantwere factored into the overallBuilding Schools for the Futureprogramme. Phoenix would,obviously, be able to bid if andwhen these came onto the openmarket.”

RYAN GALLAGHER

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