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Nearly a hundred people attended a public meeting to oppose the closure of local school Homerton College of Technology and the spread of academy schools in Hackney. Called jointly by Hackney's local branches of NUT and UNISON, the meeting attracted parents, school students, teachers, trade unionists and community activists.

Four speakers addressed the meeting.

Carol is a parent of two boys at Homerton - one in year 11, the other year 7. She explained that if the school closes then, with no spare places in the borough, kids will be displaced into schools in Tower Hamlets. She called for a Parents Action Group to be set up and to campaign alongside staff and the community.

Shabir's son is due to start at Homerton this September, and his nephew is in year 7. He denounced the Learning Trust's 'consultation'. On 10the May, the Trust had sent a document to parents which, Shabir said, "could not have been more one-sided .. it was designed to get the results they wanted ... commonly known as 'manipulation'.

Parents had been asked to choose an alternative school for their sons before the closure decision has even been made, and fear that the Learning Trust will use this to paint a false picture that parents accept the closure.

Shabir challenged the Learning Trust's negative view of the school, arguing that it has good 'value added' scores; and that it has no selection process, unlike Mossbourne Academy.

If kids are forced to go to schools outside Hackney, there are concerns about their safety travelling to and from school, and about the potential of gangs being formed on the basis of where kids come from. Shabir also felt that the Learning Trust may be trying to abrogate its responsibility for Hackney kids by pushing them into non-Hackney schools where they won't register on Hackney's league tables.

Hackney's Learning Trust wants to replace Homerton school with an academy. But we are hearing in the news that academies are failing. What proof do they have that an academy would be better?

The Trust points out that only 24 parents nominated Homerton as their first choice for their sons. But, Shabir argued, if it got the same facilities and funding as Mossbourne, lots more would choose it.

Homerton should be improved not closed, for example employing more teachers to achieve smaller classes, and providing extra help for kids who need it.

Shabir concluded by asking: "Learning Trust - you were entrusted with our kids' education and well-being. What have you done?"

The third speaker was a teacher at Homerton and NUT member. She complained of teachers being "kept in the dark" about the consultation, and claimed that some teachers are scared because the Learning Trust is "acting like bullies".

The consultation - which she labelled "a disgrace" - started as soon as Labour had been re-elected.

Teachers have demanded from Alan Wood, Chief Executive of the Learning Trust, that the Trust send out a new letter which outlines options other than closure.

NUT activists have handed out leaflets to parents and pupils outside the school.

The fourth speaker was Ricky Jones, Education Convenor of Hackney UNISON. He challengbed the Learning Trust’s assertion that there are no other options for Homerton other than closing it. He urged the audience that, even if we took different view as to which alternative option was best, we should unite against the proposed closure.

Although the school buildings are inadequate, there are possibilities for relocation, eg.

• a new building could be constructed on the large sports area and the old building demolished;

• the school could be temporarily relocated into the premises of recently-closed Kingsland School while Homerton is rebuilt;
• or the school could be temporarily relocated into Mossbourne Academy, which has plenty of space available as there are presently only two year groups of Mossbourne students.

Ricky argued that closing Homerton will increase competition for places at other schools. Already, nearly half of Hackney’s kids go out of the borough for their secondary education. This is a disgraceful statistic, which will rise even higher with Homerton’s closure.

Ricky also outlined how the school has improved recently:

• it has a new library

• working relationships have improved
• parents and teachers has set up a Parent-Teacher Association
• academic results are improving
• a ‘student leader’ scheme is up and running.

Ricky ended by urging everyone to take up this fight: “We need to be out there campaigning – we need to keep this school open. Sign the petition, get involved. We can win!”

After the speakers, there was a lively discussion, with contributions from parents, trade unionists, community activists and former pupils.

Several contributors made the point that closing a school gives kids the message that they are not wanted. Kids forced out of their home borough are more likely to end up excluded from school or otherwise “in trouble”. They don’t feel valued, they feel “pushed from pillar to post”.

We also heard reports about the situation at Haggerston Girls’ School. The Learning Trust had originally proposed to replace it with an academy, but in the face of opposition, has stepped back. It is now proposing to make the school mixed boys/girls. However, many in the school community believe that this is not a genuine move in favour of mixed education, but is intended to make the school less successful and provide cover to replace it with an academy and/or sell the land.

The school’s pupils had held protests in the schoolyard and refused to attend lessons. There is a strong mood in the school against any move towards establishing an academy.

Haggerston Parents’ Group is making a deputation to Hackney Council on 29th June.

The meeting also heard about campaigns against academies in other areas, including Waltham Forest, Islington and Doncaster.

Janine Booth, chairperson of Aspland & Marcon Estates Tenants’ & Residents’ Association (and President of Hackney TUC) explained that most kids from her estate who had applied for a place at Mossbourne Academy had been refused, despite the estate being only 500m away from the school. People do want to go to Mossbourne, despite their opposition to academies, because it is mixed, non-religious, well-funded, and is their nearest school. She pointed out that the refusal of places to local kids made a mockery of the government’s statement that academies are based in deprived areas in order to benefit the whole area.

The next planned academy in Hackney is the Jack Petchey Academy, on the site of the old Kingsland School. According to press reports, it will specialise in food, and will teach kids “the social etiquette of dining” – presumably to prepare them for a future of waiting on the tables of the rich!

Several speakers pointed out that the government provides up to £28m to each academy, but gives a large amount of control of it to a private sponsor who contributes less than £2m. Why can’t the government provide this money for direct investment in improving and building state schools which are democratically-run and accountable to the community?

The meeting ended with an agreement to hold a protest outside the Learning Trust Board meeting on 30th June at 3.30pm.

Watch this website for campaign updates.