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Pimlico academy will be ‘privatised’
Teachers union hits out at decision to invite three private schools to act as sponsors
THREE private schools are vying to sponsor the new Pimlico academy.
They visited the site in Lupus Street on Monday – a week after the council voted in favour of academy status.
The schools are Westminster School, with £8,105 a year fees, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College, “the most over-subscribed state school in the country”, and North London Collegiate Foundation, an independent day school “for ladies of distinction”.
Also visiting the school on Monday was John Nash, the chairman of Sovereign Capital, a British hedge fund, involved in east Asian markets.
One will pay a £2 million “endowment” to take control of curriculum, admissions and staffing at Pimlico.
Westminster NUT secretary Padraic Finn said the decision to invite private schools to bid represented “literal privatisation” of the secondary comprehensive.
He said: “Westminster say they listened to the response from parents and teachers to keep Pimlico as a comprehensive. However, this week they invited three private school operators and a hedge fund with a view to one of them taking control of the school. Handing the school to a private operator is not keeping Pimlico comprehensive – it is privatisation.”
The United Learning Trust and Absolute Return for Kids had been expected to bid but the sponsors of Paddington and King Solomon academies have withdrawn their interest following public outcry against them.
Steve Farnsworth, Westminster City Council’s director of schools and learning, said: “We met with a number of potential academy sponsors on Tuesday and further meetings with further potential sponsors and this initial group may take place over the summer.
“But we will not be revealing any details at this early stage.”
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