THE GOVERNMENT has approved plans for an academy in a deprived area of Norwich, sponsored jointly by the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James, and a local businessman, Graham Dacre.
Unusually, the go-ahead was announced days before the signing last week of the funding agreement. Ministers had rejected a last-ditch petition from opponents of the academy, who objected to the involvement of Mr Dacre, who is a Free Church Evangelical.
Bishop James said on Tuesday that the Government’s decision would allow huge resources to flow into the Heartsease estate, one of the poorest areas of the cathedral city. Rejecting allegations that Mr Dacre was a fundamentalist Christian who wanted to impose his views on the academy, the Bishop described him as “a Christian philanthropist who cares for the youth of his home city”.
Mr Dacre will put up most of the £2 million sponsorship cash. The Bishop’s personal involvement with the project is the first of its kind nationally. He will contribute £50,000 from funds available to him.
The new school, which will replace the undersubscribed Heartsease High School, will open in September, on the same site, moving into a new multi-million pound building in 2009. The prospect has already resulted in a significant rise in applications, said the Bishop. “It is bringing hope to Heartsease.”
Retaining the same head teacher, Lindsay Knight, the new venture will be known as the Open Academy, linking it with the city’s Open Youth Centre and other projects financed by Mr Dacre. It will not be designated as a religious school, and RE will be under the local agreed syllabus. The Principal of Norwich City College, Dick Palmer, will be a governor.
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