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Pimlico process was ‘a charade’
St Martin-in-the-Fields vicar slams ‘breathtaking vandalism’ of academy
THE vicar of the West End’s oldest church has launched a scathing attack on the council over its handling of Pimlico School.
Reverend Nicholas Holtam, of the Grade I listed St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, blasted the “consultation” process as a “charade”.
The clergyman, an upholder of moral values in the community, whose four children were all educated at the iconic community school, said the decision to transform Pimlico into an academy was “a breathtaking piece of ideological vandalism on the part of our local authority”.
He said: “Westminster’s conduct of consultation about the future of Pimlico School has been shocking.
“The post of principal for the new Pimlico Academy was advertised more than a month in advance of the closure of the council’s consultation period on December 7. This prejudiced the consultation which has looked from an early stage as if it would make no difference at all to the council’s decision. Why do any of us bother to take part in such a charade?”
Schools chiefs are struggling to justify their decision to appoint the charitable trust Future, run by venture capitalist and Conservative party donor John Nash, as the sponsor of Pimlico school when it becomes an academy in September.
The decision had been based on Mr Nash’s ties with specialist education provider Alpha Plus.
But at a meeting last week Mr Nash shocked everyone by revealing Alpha Plus, which he owns, “would not be in any way connected with Pimlico’s future”.
The admission has enraged campaigners who cannot understand how one of London’s leading comprehensives has been handed over to a charity, formed just over a year ago, with no experience of running a secondary school.
This week, opposition leader Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg wrote to Steve Farnsworth, Westminster’s director of schools, outlining his concerns over the appointment.
And a panel of leading academics investigating the process by which Pimlico School has become a city academy have published their report.
The 30-page document follows a Committee of Enquiry at the Westminster Central Hall on November 10.
The panel – Institute of Education Professors Stephen Ball and Gus John, London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi and Sally Tomlinson – have sent their findings to the education minister Ed Balls.
Their summary reports a “total lack of confidence” in the chosen sponsor, Future plc, while concluding Pimlico is “a good school which was badly served by its local authority.
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