Harris Academies, one of the best-known new chains of state secondaries, have today posted an extraordinary set of results. It’s worth studying because it shows how a change of management
can transform education for pupils in deprived areas.
Pour in money if you like, but the way a school is run is the key determinant. This is the idea behind City Academies, perhaps Labour’s single best (and most rapidly-vindicated) policy. The notion is rejected by teaching unions, who loathe the idea that some teachers are better than others. Bad schools are kept bad by the idea that their performance is due to deeply-ingrained social
problems, etc.
Harris has produced a table showing the results of their schools when they were last run by the council, and this year’s results. It speaks best for itself:
It’s worth examining Harris Academy Merton. The enemies of Academies (Fiona Millar’s lot) tried so hard to keep what was Tamworth Manor as a council-run school that they took Harris to a judicial
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