The city’s last remaining grammar school has become a centrally-funded academy, free from local authority control, sparking a negative reaction by a teachers’ union.
The Blue Coat School in Liverpool has changed its status from a grammar school to an academy. For more than 300 years, the prestigious school in Wavertree has been educating youngsters, and the decision was made after a four-month consultation process, in which parents, teachers, students and other interested parties were included.
However, Cathy Fitzgerald-Taher, from the National Union of Teachers Liverpool, told JMU Journalism: “The NUT is saddened and disappointed that the Blue Coat School decided to become an academy.”
“The teachers at the Blue Coat were against going from a grammar school to academy status as this takes the school away from the ‘family’ of Liverpool schools.”
Lyndsay Lynch, chair from the Ble Coat Parents’ Association told JMU Journalism: “We are satisfied that the school’s main focus throughout the consultation process was the continued first class education and pastoral care of our students.
“Blue Coat is a unique school with a reputation for excellence. We believe that academy status is the best option for further building on the school’s success for this generation and future generations of students.”
As an academy, the school is independent and they can decide on their own budget, the school conditions, and the pay for its teachers. In addition, the academies are free from government interference.