EFFORTS are underway to pressure Featherstone High School to drop plans to become an academy.
Managers at the school in Montague Waye, Southall are due to decide whether to pursue the controversial bid on Tuesday (July 12). But the group Southall Against Academies said there is widespread opposition within the community.
The group said it has obtained signatures from every religious temple in Southall, as well as every ward councillor for the area and Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma.
Stefan Simms, spokesman for SAA said: “This is a deeply unpopular proposal and we are doing everything we can to get the school to rethink. We have obtained signed by every community leader in Southall. Every mosque, gurdwara, mandir and local councillor has signed it."
The statement reads: “As ‘community leaders’ of Southall we believe that Featherstone High School is an excellent school and that it should stay within the democratically elected local authority family of schools.
“Featherstone High must stay accountable to the communities that it serves. We are opposed to Featherstone High becoming an Academy; this is privatization of our children’s education. Parents/carers of pupils would have nowhere to complain and appeal to about any decision that badly affects their children’s education except directly to the Government."
Mr Simms added there was also a statement signed by parents and so far more than 500 signatures have been collected.
Gerry Wadwa, headteacher at Featherstone said: “We are unaware of this petition overseen by the group calling themselves Southall Against Academies and therefore have not had an opportunity to assess whether the concerns of the individuals have any relevance to the academy model that Featherstone governors have consulted on.
“Governors have received very frequent communications from the Southall Against Academies group over the past few weeks. Much of the literature circulated bears no relevance to the proposed academy model at Featherstone.
“The school would remain fully accountable to the Governing Body which would continue to monitor and challenge the work of the school in the same way it does now. The governing body of an academy includes parents, community members, staff and can include a Local Authority representative.”
