July 19th 2005 South London Press

"Academy is given the boot" By Gareth Dorrian, South London Press

A SHORTAGE of school places in a borough will be tackled by the expansion of secondary schools.

Lambeth council also announced on Friday it would scrap plans to build an academy in Clapham's Clarence Avenue.

A spokesman said three new schools - including an academy opened last year in Clapham - would help address the lack of places. More than half of all secondary pupils in Lambeth travel to classes outside the borough.

The spokesman said the authority was committed to offering at least 80 per cent of children a place in a Lambeth school - extra places would be created under Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Government funding. Plans are already well advanced for an academy in Shakespeare Road, Brixton, and a new secondary school in West Norwood.

The spokesman said: "The council's recommendation is not to go ahead with the plans for an academy at Clarence Avenue. There was strong opposition from parents to several aspects of the proposal, especially the need to close Glenbrook Primary School to absorb it into an academy."

Plans for a Nelson Mandela school in Brixton would not be pursued because of problems buying land and the cost of building, which could be much more than campaigners had been quoting.

A soon-to-be-published Government survey about the need for extra schools across London cast doubt on the need for a new school in Brixton, he said.

"This fact, combined with the high financial risk of the Brixton Hill site and the new opportunities created through Lambeth's successful BSF bid, has led the council to favour the expansion of schools rather than pursue a second new academy in Brixton," he added.

The council's education spokesman, Councillor Anthony Bottrall, said the authority was delighted to have taken a firm decision on school place shortages.

He added: "Until recently, there seemed to be no alternative but to spend still more of the council's money on acquiring land for a third academy.

"But the new opportunities created through BSF funding have led us to the clear conclusion that the expansion of popular secondary schools is the best way forward."

The proposals will be presented to the council's executive on July 25.

What do you think of the proposals? Write to South London Press, 2-4 Leigham Court Road, Streatham, SW16 2PD or email letters@slp.co.uk

'We'll keep fighting'

DEFIANT campaigners who want a secondary school built in Brixton have vowed to fight on. Members of the Nelson Mandela School Foundation want an institute built on land in Waterworks Road with help from the Government's City Academies programme.

Foundation secretary Devon Allison said: "The case has already been made that a new school is a brilliant idea for Brixton.

"The council needs to properly explain why it can't spend the money needed for this school.

"It would cost a fraction of what they think. Their lack of ambition shows a lack of concern for the children of Brixton. We will keep campaigning."

But staff at Glenbrook Primary School welcomed news it would not become part of an academy.

Teacher Sarah Tomlinson said: "This school has been here for 50 years and many of us couldn't believe the council would change that."

Article courtesy of The South London Press

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