MERSEY schools are set to turn to Sweden and the US if the Conservatives win.
Places with areas of deprivation like Liverpool, the Tories pledge, will undergo a “schools revolution”. And the party would copy models of schooling in the two countries, to create what it terms “free schools”.
Under the scheme, parents’ and teachers’ groups unhappy with current schools would be permitted to “save” and set up their own academies funded by the state.
They could either run the academy schools themselves or in partnership with existing operators such as schools, charities or private companies. The manifesto stresses “they will be beacons of excellence” in areas where attainment is low.
This could include Knowsley, where, despite year-on-year improvements, its GCSE results put the borough at the foot of the league tables. Liverpool would also almost certainly be the home of a new technical academy which the Conservatives want to establish in the 12 biggest cities, offering teenagers vocational education “that meet the needs of modern business”.
Local authorities will also be stripped of their right to approve new schools. And Merseyside would be set for an explosion in the number of academies. All school schools will have the chance to gain academy status and the programme will be extended to primaries.
Currently there are 203 academies including one in the Wirral – the Birkenhead High School Academy – and three in Liverpool: Belvedere in Princes Park; The Academy Of St Francis Of Assisi, Fairfield; The North Liverpool Academy in Everton.
