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Over the past few weeks at hisbecome incredibly clear to anyonebut the most biased observer thatthere is huge opposition to theplanned conversion of PrinceHenrys Grammar School (PHGS)to academy status on December

1st.

Anger at the lack of consultation,the many problems associatedwith removing the school from theLocal Education Authority (LEA)and worry about the future of thelocal swimming pool which islocated at the school are just someof the reasons why many peopleare angry over what is happeningto PHGS.

Teachers have taken strike actionfor six days over the past threeweeks, and have marched intotown on three of those days.Students have come out in supportof the picket lines and a vibrancyto those, alongside parents andothers from the local community.

But this opposition was reinforcedby the massive public meeting onTuesday 22nd November, wherewell over 250 people from the localcommunity came to a publicmeeting organised by the localtown council, who themselves

added their voice opposingacademy status, to take a massivevote of no confidence in PHGShead, Janet Sheriff and Chair ofGovernors, Paul Trantor.

But in the face of this Sheriff andTrantor still plan to carry on withtheir plans for PHGS, backed bywhat remains of the schoolgoverning body, after half of thegovernors resigned in protest overthe lack of any serious consultationwith parents, teachers and thelocal community.

This Saturdays demonstration willfurther ramp up the pressure thathas been exerted on Sheriff andTrantor to respond to the opinionsof the local community, but it is

quite possible that even a further

public show of opposition will notbe enough to delay the conversionto academy status.

What Is To Be Done?

Sheriff and Trantors plan appearsto be that they can just hunkerdown and wait for the storm ofanger over the academyconversion to pass, believing thatonce the conversion date is

reached on December 1st

, they cancarry on dictating what happens atPrince Henrys without facing thesame level of outside pressure.

Therefore to force them to backdown, would require a level ofaction that meant that this was notan option to them.

To stop the conversion, furtheraction is necessary to build on thestrike action by teachers and thehuge community support.

There has been talk on the picket

How Can We Stop Prince HenrysBecoming an Academy?

Join us today - Text: JOIN plus your name and postcode to 07761818206 / Write to Socialist Party, PO Box 24697,London, E11 1YD / Visit: www.socialistparty.org.uk / E-mail: join@socialistparty.org.uk / Phone: 020 8988 877

Mass united campaigning must continue to stop conversion to an academy

Some Reasons to Say No

No DemocracyMost schools, like Otley, have ignored

the wishes of staff, parents and thelocal community and have only done atoken consultation amongst students.

Extra Money?Services provided by the LEA, such aspayroll and legal advice, would have tobe funded by any extra money schoolswould receive - this is costing schools

more money than they gain.

Raising Standards?There is no evidence to back upclaims that academies improve

performance, all published researchshows a very mixed picture

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lines by those supporting theaction about holding a studentwalkout next week, or a group ofparents going into school todemand a meeting with theheadteacher. Such action mustchallenge the ability of Sheriff andTrantor to impose their designsupon the school and those whowork and study there.

However, given the short space oftime to organise this, then theconversion to academy statuscould go through next week. But

this doesnt mark the end of thebattle, just some of the conditionsit is being fought under.

The lack of accountability forparents will remain a problem, thepotential to attacks on teacherspay and conditions remains as doall the other host of issues thatpeople have raised in opposition toacademy status.

If the conversion goes ahead on

December 1st, then it is importantto continue the beginnings thathave made by both students andparents organising themselvesaround this issue, to make surethat they cannot be ignored in thefuture.

There have been some commentsduring the recent public meetingabout the campaign not beingpolitical. But it is through the mass

pressure of the community thatboth the Town Council leadership,

Labour, and opposition, Lib Dems,have had to come out in clearopposition to the conversion toacademy status, alongside theOtley & Yeadon ward councillors(Lib Dem).

It has even forced local Lib DemMP, Greg Mulholland, to oppose hisown government partner MichaelGove to a degree, although he hasnot come out in clear opposition toacademy status. If local politiciansare opposed to the conversion ofPrince Henrys to an academy,

then they should all vociferouslycome out as such, alongsidesupport the demands of thestriking teachers (suspension of

conversion on December 1st and aballot of parents on the schoolsfuture).

Moreover, if the conversion toacademy status goes through, thenthey should be demanding thereturn of the Prince Henrys to theLEA, and fighting the governmentto bring in such legislation.

Although currently there is nomechanism to do this, things likethe Poll Tax have been fought bycommunities who simply made thattax unworkable. The same should

happen to Sheriff and Trantorsplans to ignore the interests ofeveryone else apart fromthemselves.

Agree with us - Then Join the Socialists!The Socialist Party doest just fight against cuts to publicservices, privatisation and other attacks of the 1% at the top ofsociety on all the rest of us. As long as capitalism existsworking people will face a future of uncertainly. We need analternative way of running society, a socialist society, based onmeeting the needs of the many by planning production in that

direction rather than making profits for a few at the top. To do this we need to take the banks and theother monopolies that dominate our economy into public ownership and run them democratically. TheSocialist Party is made up of ordinary people like you, so if you agree then join us in the struggle forsocialism.

Join us today - Text: JOIN plus your name and postcode to 07761818206 / Write to Socialist Party, PO Box 24697,London, E11 1YD / Visit: www.socialistparty.org.uk / E-mail: join@socialistparty.org.uk / Phone: 020 8988 877

Teachers have taken 6 days strike action against conversion to academy status