Academy plans set to transform Manchester education
The Council together with sponsers are working together to progress the unique proposals that are very different from other Academies being established elsewhere nationally.
The proposals will see seven brand new Academies open in Manchester by September 2010, each one linked to future growth sectors of the city's economy, and each one linked also to other schools in the city.
As a result it is expected that at least 120,000 new jobs will be created in the City over the next ten years.
The Academies will be fully inclusive and will work collaboratively with all schools across the city to help drive up standards and to ensure that pupils learn directly from industry and education specialists the skills they need in order for them to be able to access further and higher education, and get good jobs in the future.
There will be six Academy specialisms including creative and media; digital communications; health; finance and business; construction and the built environment; and business and enterprise.
The Academies will be owned by Academy Trusts which will be charitable companies limited by guarantee. The Board of the Trust will also be the Governing Body of each school and will be responsible for the running of the Academy and its outcomes.
Key sponsors of individual Academies are Bovis Lend Lease, Laing O'Rourke, BT, The Co-operative Group, Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester Airport, Willow Park Housing Trust, and Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT).
Manchester City Council and MANCAT will also be co-sponsors of each of the Academies.
Other organisations offering further support to the Academies include City College, ITV Granada, Microsoft and BBC.
The Council's Academy proposals complement the work already underway through the Government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to rebuild each high school in the city. Together this represents a £500 million investment in the city's schools.
Councillor Sheila Newman, executive member Children's Services, Manchester City Council, said: "There is no doubt that the sponsors' involvement in our Academy plans will be key to radically changing and improving the educational experience of pupils in the city's schools.
"Pupils at all schools will benefit from the proposals as the Academies' business sponsors will work collaboratively, sharing their knowledge, expertise and facilities with schools across the city.
"Most importantly however, these plans will improve the life chances and future success of all pupils by ensuring that they leave school with the right skills and qualifications that will give them the best possible chance of accessing further and higher education and good jobs in the future."
Five of the planned seven new Academies will replace five existing high schools - Brookway, Parklands, Plant Hill, North Manchester Boys, and North Manchester Girls - which would all close as the new Academies open. There will also be two brand new purpose built Academies, one in east Manchester and one on Queen's Road / Rochdale Road, in Harpurhey.
