But LSE “not in position” to follow suit

Simon Wang 

27th November 2007

University College London (UCL) recently became the fourteenth higher education institution to gain permission to sponsor an academy.

Camden Council gave UCL "indicative approval" to sponsor the academy, which will focus on teaching of mathematics, science and foreign languages. UCL staff, from professors to postdoctoral researchers, will assist teachers at the academy.

Academy schools originally established in 2000 by former prime minister Tony Blair, are state-maintained independent schools set up with the help of outside sponsors. This was part of a move to replace failing schools in struggling education authorities. There are now 46 open academies and over 100 are scheduled to open by 2010. Sixteen of these are sponsored either completely or partly by universities or colleges.

UCL plans to raise money to set up a science discovery center and improve its support for science, mathematics and languages in the Camden area. However, UCL does not plan to have any direct influence in the running of the school. Professor Malcolm Grant, provost of UCL and chairman of the Russell Group of leading UK universities, stressed that "UCL’s role lies in leadership and curriculum added value, rather than in financial support".

Under the original academy model, schools are required to raise £2 million from private benefactors or organisations to become an academy. However, universities were exempted from this requirement in July 2006, thus UCL will not have to provide the funding demanded of other academy sponsors.

UCL's work in Camden follows a general trend of university sponsorship of academies throughout the UK, although only two universities have opened academies thus far. In 2003, the University of the West of England, Bristol opened the City Academy in Bristol. Liverpool University followed suit, opening the North Liverpool Academy last year.

Simeon Underwood, academic registrar at the LSE, stated that although the School is paying close attention to academies sponsored by universities, the LSE is not in a position to develop a single school along UCL lines.

He added: "The snags include our size and subject range - in most cases the universities involved in developing schemes of this kind have large Schools of Education."

However, the registrar is looking at other options for LSE involvement in secondary education and a report will be made to the School Council early in the new year.