PwC reports that the role of Local Authorities is changing – the May 2007 Prospectus for sponsors and Local Authorities⁵⁹illustrates the significant and changing role of Local Authorities in sponsorship. They are now encouraged to engage proactively with the programme and sponsor

Academies that are jointly sponsored by Local Authorities retain their independence and are not maintained by the authority, but they are part of the local family of schools. (Note, however, that Local Authorities are only allowed to appoint a maximum of two governors when they are joint sponsors – the other sponsor appoints the majority on the governing body). Local Authorities are apparently also increasingly working with the DCSF to select sponsors and support the planning and establishment of Academies within their area (Whether this is to secure BSF funding or not is unclear) PwC also report a lack of clarity about what the LA changing role will involve and about who is ultimately accountable for pupils in Academies; questions have also arisen about the respective roles and responsibilities of Local Authorities and Academies, particularly within the context of Every Child Matters

Kent County Council

Kent say their decision to be a sponsor ensures that they have a legitimate stake in the development of academies, acting as joint co-sponsors. They believe it is a sound investment that helps to secure their education policy objectives for the county. It enables them to strategically plan and integrate academies with other community developments, in conjunction with other key agencies and partners, including health, social services, borough councils, diocesan boards and local businesses. Finally they believe they are able to stimulate, influence and shape the direction for a new culture of learning in local communities that have, for too long experienced inadequate provision.

Sunderland City Council

Sunderland Council, as Academy co-sponsor, says it has a fundamental commitment to ensuring that all schools and colleges in the City provide equal access to high quality education for all students of all abilities. In consultation with the DCSF, the City has developed the ‘Sunderland Model’ for their academies programme the vision for which is to enable genuine partnership and collaboration between all schools. The new Academy will become a partner within this collaborative network and will adhere to the key principles of the Sunderland Model, namely: the Local Authority Admissions policies; full accessibility to students with special educational needs and the policy for increased inclusion in all mainstream schools; the Local Authority Behaviour and Exclusions policies; full support of the authority’s post-16 strategy for joint sixth form centres; and collaborative 14-19 partnerships including shared skills centres where appropriate, collaborate fully with all other local authority partnership initiatives.

Corporation of London

Livery companies, charitable organisations and similar

Merchant Venturers (Withywood Academy, Colston )

Membership to the Merchant Venturers is by invitation only to “men and women who are prominent in the business and commercial life of the greater Bristol area, and who are prepared to give their time and skills in support of the Merchant Venturers’ objectives”. The Merchant Venturers are governed by the Master and two Wardens. They head a 15-strong Standing Committee of members who are elected annually on Charter Day, 10th November. Day-to-day administration is carried out by the Treasurer, who is effectively the chief executive. He is advised as necessary by the Clerk, who is a lawyer.

Its objectives are to:

Contribute to the prosperity and well being of the greater Bristol area through active support of enterprise and commercial and community activity;

Enhance the quality of life for all, particularly for the young, aged and disadvantaged;

Promote learning and the acquisition of skills by supporting education

Act as effective stewards of the charitable trusts, heritage, ancient buildings and open spaces for which the society is responsible

The Merchant Venturers have been involved in education in Bristol for at least 400 years – running a school for the children of mariners as early as 1595. This eventually became the Merchant Venturers’ Technical College. In 1708 Edward Colston founded Colston’s School and endowed it, appointing the Merchant Venturers as managers of the endowment. In 1891 Colston’s Girls’ School was created under the auspices of the same foundation .As a sponsor, the Merchants are heavily involved in all aspects of the Academy, chairing the Academy Trust and working closely with Bristol University (as co-sponsors)

The Mercers' Company of the City of London (Sandwell Academy)

The Mercers’ Company, a Livery Company of London, had its first Charter granted by Richard II in 1394 but its origins are much older. Since ceasing to act as an association of merchants in overseas trade the Company has developed into a charitable and educational foundation

Deacon's School Trust (The Thomas Deacon Academy)

The Deacon's School Trust is a small educational trust set up in 1722 under the terms of Thomas Deacon's will. It has been involved with education in the city of Peterborough without a break since that time. The Trust was previously associated with Deacon's School, which was one of the three predecessor schools in the east of the city that closed to make way for the Academy (Deacon's School, Hereward Community College and John Mansfield School) There was significant local criticism of the academy including a letter sent by the three school chairmen of governors to the Government last month, which was leaked to the local paper, The Evening Telegraph. The letter demanded action to stop achievement levels from dropping in the first few years of the flagship school. Two key members of staff walked out of top jobs as plans were being laid for the opening of academy. The resignations are believed to follow behind-the-scenes clashes, and "creative differences" were blamed.

The Royal Society (RSA Academy)

The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) was founded over 250 years ago. It is multi-disciplinary, politically independent and combines research and policy development with practical action. Projects generate new models for tackling the social challenges of today; their work is supported by a 27,000 strong Fellowship. The RSA is registered as a charity in England and Wales and separately as a charity in Scotland. Its Patron is the Queen

And the President; is the Duke of Edinburgh (that well known force social progress)

Trustees are: Gerry Acher CBE LVO (Chair),Sir Paul Judge (Deputy Chair) Philip Goldenberg (Treasurer) Pamela Taylor OBE (Treasurer) Lord Best ,Sean Blair, Naaz Coker, Dr David McCoy, Louise Macdonald, Vicky Pryce, Susan Steele, Andrew Summers CMG, David Young

Toc H (Bradford Academy with Diocese of Bradford, St Michael and All Angels with Southwark)

Toc H is an international community action charity committed to building a fairer society by working with communities to promote friendship and service, confront prejudice and practise reconciliation. It began in the 1^st world war taking its name from Talbot House and the atmosphere of this soldiers' club in Poperinge, where the men were encouraged to mingle and make friends, ignoring the normal rules of rank or statues.

Of the academy, the sponsors say “symbolically, our new building has the ‘Forum’ – a debating chamber - at its heart, demonstrating our commitment to involve, inform and inspire our students to use their voice so that every learner is known, valued and understood”.

Gentoo (Academy 340)

Gentoo (formerly Sunderland Housing Group) is the sixth largest employer in Sunderland. It is a not-for-profit organisation that uses its business efficiency and surplus generating activities to re-invest in local communities. The Group has a dedicated social investment team that works with partners, including local schools, to create opportunities in education, employment and enterprise.

New Charter (New Charter Academy)

New Charter Housing Trust Group exists to build and support communities in the provision of affordable homes. The Group is based in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

Academic institutions

The following academic institutions are involved in sponsoring or co-sponsoring academies:

The University of the West of England (City Academy, Bristol with John Laycock)

Manchester Science Park (Manchester Academy with ULT)

Liverpool University and Granada University (New Liverpool Academy)

Barnfield College Further Education Co-operative (Barnfield West and Barnfield South Academy)

Kings School Canterbury (Folkestone Academy)

King’s School is a leading independent fee paying school. Folkestone Academy has a “broadly Christian” ethos

Tonbridge School (Marsh Academy)

Tonbridge School is one of the leading boys' boarding schools in the country

Steiner School Fellowship

Oxford Brookes University

Church

One of the biggest concerns has been the larger influence of Christian faiths in the academy programme. This section highlights what type of schools the church sponsored academies replaced.

Diocese of Liverpool/Catholic Diocese of Liverpool (St Francis of Assisi)

Replaced a Catholic secondary school with a new joint faith secondary school, becoming the first joint denominational school in the country.

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark (St Paul’s Academy, Greenwich and St Matthew’s Lewisham) with de la Salle Congregation

St Matthew’s replaced a Catholic secondary school and Catholic primary school with 3-19 school.

St Paul’s Academy replaced the non denominational community secondary Abbey Wood School and St Paul’s Catholic School, allowing an Academy to be created on the current Abbey Wood site. There was fierce local opposition to replacing Abbey Wood with a Catholic Academy

Manchester Diocese (Salford City Academy) with ULT

Replaced Church of England School

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds (David Young Community Academy)

Replaced a Church of England secondary school and a boys community secondary school

Diocese of Durham (Eastbourne Church of England Academy)

Replaced Eastbourne community school which increased its 5 A*-C GCSEs from 22% to 44% in the year before it became an academy – and sacked the head responsible.

Southwark Diocesan Board of Education (St Michaels and All Angels) with TocH

Replaced Archbishop Michael Ramsey Technology College – Church of England VA School

Toc H is an international organisation that has a track record of developing, nurturing and supporting community-based programmes across the United Kingdom and in other countries. A charitable organisation, committed to building a fairer society by working with communities to promote friendship and service, confront prejudice and practise reconciliation

Diocese of Bradford (Bradford Academy) with TocH

Replaced Bradford Cathedral Community College, a “failed” Church of England School

London Diocesan Board for Schools (St Mary Magdalene Academy, Wren Academy, co-sponsor of Greig Academy,)

Replaced St Mary Magdalene Church of England Primary School with an all through 3-18 school, in the face of strong local opposition and an abjection by English Heritage

http://schools.london.anglican.org/Annual-Report/Annual%20Report%202008%20-%20Presentation.pdf

Wren has as our co-sponsor Berkhamsted Collegiate School. Berkhamsted is one of the country's leading independent schools, established during the sixteenth century. We anticipate that Wren and Berkhamsted will forge an innovative and successful partnership between the state and independent sectors. It replaced Christchurch C of E secondary

Leicester Diocesan Board (Samworth Enterprise Academy) with David Samworth

Replaced Sherwood Hall School and Sixth Form College a non denominational community school

Hereford Diocesan Board of Education (Hereford Academy)

Replaced Wyebridge Sports College. Under strong leadership, that school had made consistent progress over the years, improving five GCSE pass rates from just over ten percent to 52 percent in seven years. Although the right learning atmosphere had been created with improved teaching and learning, the building was in need of major capital investment and the academy programme allowed this to happen. Without it, the school would have to wait until around 2020 for the next wave of the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Hereford Academy, to be sponsored by the Hereford Diocese, will not be a church school and admission arrangements will remain the same as they are at the moment.

Diocese of York (Archbishop Sentamu Academy)

Replaced Archbishop Thurstan Voluntary Controlled Church of England School

Diocese of Lincoln (St Lawrence Academy)

The St Lawrence Academy opened in September 2008 replacing High Ridge Specialist Sports College. The Academy will build on the success of High Ridge, which was a good and improving school (OFSTED 2006). It appears that it will not be a church school and will operate standard LA admissions policies

Diocese of Oxford (The Oxford Academy)

Replaced Peers School opened in 1968, the first comprehensive in Oxford Peers was once among the most admired schools in the country, acclaimed as a model of how to deal with disadvantaged children and famous for curriculum innovation. Tim Brighouse sent his own children there.

The Academy has a Christian ethos but will operate standard LA admissions policies

Football

John Laycock, a Director of Bristol City Football Club is one of three sponsors for City Academy Bristol.

John Madejski, Chairman of Reading Football Club, is sponsoring an academy in Reading.

West Bromwich Albion FC is one of a consortium of sponsors for Sandwell Academy.

All three academies specialise in sports

City Technology Colleges

City Technology Colleges (CTCs) were the forerunners of academies and 15 were created by the previous Conservative government. Most of them have been encouraged to become academies with more capital investment and often becoming principle partners in a hard federation with a former community school

Only two remain as CTCs:

Thomas Telford School

Thomas Telford School was one of fifteen City Technology Colleges, sponsored by The Mercers’ Company and Tarmac Group Ltd. School websites say that Thomas Telford has now sponsored Walsall Academy and Sandwell Academy. However Hansard answers on 11^th June 2007 by Jim Knight say that the sponsor of these schools and Madeley Academy is Thomas Telford On line. Madeley School describes itself as being in a federation with Thomas Telford.

Thomas Telford Online was set up in 2000 to sell the online learning materials developed by Thomas Telford School.

The BRIT School (a City College for the Technology of the Arts - CCTA)

The School is funded by both the Department for Education and Employment (DFEE) and the British Record Industry Trust - a charitable organisation set up by the British record industry to develop projects in the fields of education, therapy and other works in the community. The sponsors for the School include, amongst others, Britain's major record companies; BMG Records, EMI Records, PolyGram UK, Sony Music Entertainment UK, Virgin Group, Warner Music UK, Roland UK
The school is designed for students aged 14-19 who wish to acquire a broad, balanced education, offering greater specialisation in Performing Arts and Arts Technology as they progress through the four years.

CTCs converting to academy status:

Emmanuel College, Gateshead

Converted to academy status as part of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation formerly Peter Vardy trust (see below)

Greensward (Academies Enterprise Trust)

In 2007 Greensward College was invited by the DCSF to take over 2 “failing schools” to form a hard federation of 3 academies (as an academy federation pathfinder). The federation involved the John Bramston School and the Rickstones School becoming academies with Greensward College under a single Trust. This led to the setting up of the Greensward Charitable Trust as the charitable sponsors, chaired by Ian Foster. The three schools will work together under a single academy trust, which has been named the ’Academy Enterprise Trust’. The former principal of Greensward, David Triggs, is a National Leader of Education and an Associate Headteacher to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT). He will become Chief Executive Officer of the three schools and remain principal of Greensward.

Kingshurst Academy Check 3Es

Opened in 1988 as Kingshurst CTC and has now converted to academy status. Technically, Kingshurst Academy is registered as a company limited by guarantee while also being registered as a charity in England and Wales.

3E's, a spinout company fully owned by the Kingshurst CTC Trust, was responsible for the formation of the Kingshurst Foundation - a confederation of schools run by the 3E's company. The initial schools in this Federation were King's College, Guildford and Kings International College, Camberley.

John Cabot Academy (John Cabot Academy, Bristol Brunel Academy)

In addition to converting to Academy status, John Cabot are also sponsoring Bristol Brunel Academy (BBA). The head of John Cabot will be Executive Principal, having overall responsibility for both academies.

John Cabot was originally sponsored by Rolls Royce and Wolfson.

Leigh Technology Academy Trust (Longfield Academy)

Formerly the Leigh City Technology College, under the sponsorship of Sir Geoffrey Leigh. He was at that time Chairman and Managing Director of Allied London Properties PLC. He became the first Chairman of the College in 1990 and retired in 2006. Although, retired, he is still a member of The Leigh Technology Academy Trust.

Weston Foundation – (Corby Academy, Brooke Weston Academy)

Brooke Weston was formerly a CTC and is now sponsored by the Brooke Weston CTC Trust

Corby Business Academy is sponsored by the Weston Foundation

Weston Foundation

The Garfield Weston Foundation was established in 1958 by Willard Garfield Weston, a Canadian businessman who arrived in the UK in 1932. He created Associated British Foods and the Foundation. He was succeeded as Chairman of both the company and the foundation by his son, Garry, with his wife and their descendants becoming Trustees. The Foundation was originally endowed with the donation of family-owned company shares and is now funded through the investment in the forms the permanent capital endowment of the Wittington Investments Limited group of companies. The Weston Foundation has given £10mto the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. This includes support for some 500 specialist schools, the Brooke Weston City Technology College and the two academies.

Brooke Weston was also sponsored by the de Capell Brookes Family. Hugh de Capell Brooke is a local landowner who donated the site and a substantial cash underwriting to ensure the building began. Alexander de Capell Brooke and the Brooke Weston Foundation each appoint two governors. Three governors are elected giving the sponsors the majority. The governors can then co-opt up to three other governors.

Where they are oversubscribed, both Corby Business Academy and Broke Weston use a cognitive ability test. This is used to ensure that the Academy admits an intake that is representative of the national ability range and is comprehensive in intake. It is not clear if the local population is reflective of this also.

Trustees are Hugh de Capell Brooke, Alexander de Capell Brooke, George Weston ,

Jana Khayat, Sophia Mason, Sir Cyril Taylor, Virginia Dowley, Peter Hedges

The two schools form the Brooke Weston Partnership

Thomas Telford School

Dixons (Dixons City Academy)

Formerly Dixons CTC sponsored by. When it became an academy, but Dixons was no longer interested in sponsorship. So with the approval of the then DCSF the new academy was sponsored by Dixons CTC, which will be providing sponsorship of £395,000.

Macmillan (MacMillan Academy)

The new academy is funded by former school Macmillan CTC. At the time, the DCSF website said: "Macmillan College will convert to an academy and will be sponsored by the Macmillan Trust." The Macmillan Trust - the charitable arm of Macmillan the publishers - had helped the school in the past, but did not agree to put up a penny to turn it into a city academy. The Funding Agreement describes the switch to an academy as a “change of status”.

Landau Forte Academy Trust (Landau Forte College)

The College was founded in 1992 as a CTC and its initial principal sponsors were Martin Landau and the Forte organisation. The Landau Foundation, is a charitable trust in partnership with hotel company Forte PLC

Haberdashers Livery Company (Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College and Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy)

The Company is trustee of three main grant-making foundations and four schools foundations. The latter were established by members of the Company in the 16th and 17th centuries and now support nine schools in both the maintained and independent sectors. The Foundations own the land and buildings of the schools and provide income to them, and the Company provides a number of governors for all the schools. The Haberdashers' Aske's Federation in Lewisham, consisting of Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College (the former CTC) and Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy (formerly, a community school)

Harry Djanogly

Sir Harry made £300m in textiles and, though secretive, is in the five top UK philanthropists. He is/was Chairman of Coats Viyella PLC ("Coats Viyella"), He is

Non Executive Deputy Chairman of Singer & Friedlander Plc and a Non Executive Director of Carpetright Plc. Chairman of the Nomination Committee as well as a member of the Remuneration and Audit Committees

Bacons CTC/Harris CTC

See Lord Harris

Prospect Education

ADT CTC in Wandsworth converted to an academy, sponsored by Prospect Education (Technology) Trust

The sponsor is Lord Ashcroft who holds office in a number of voluntary organisations e.g Crimestoppers and Prospect Education (Technology) Trust

He is also Deputy Chairman of Conservative Party
Ashcroft himself was chairman of the Bermuda-registered security services company ADT and a guarantor of the Conservative party's overdraft. He paid just £1m to sponsor the ADT CTC in Wandsworth. In January 1990, he made it clear how his business interests and Wandsworth council's politics could benefit, in a private letter to the council leader, Sir Paul Beresford: "From a political point of view, the higher the profile that can be given to the creation of the CTC concept here in Wandsworth the better, and no doubt this will be of much help to local Conservative candidates for the May 1990 elections." I have suggested to the prime minister and Kenneth Baker that it would be helpful if a small ceremony could be held on or around April 2 1990, so that the college can be formally handed over ... to the new CTC trust. The prime minister's presence would, from school websites of course, guarantee publicity

Trustees of Prospect Education:

Lord Ashcroft, Chairman, Carlisle Holdings Ltd

Ms Angela Entwistle, Corporate Communications Director, Carlisle Holdings Ltd

Mr David Hammond, Chairman, BCA Holdings Ltd

Mr Torquil Sligo-Young, Director of IT, Young & Co's Brewery

Other faith based groups

The city academy programme is making Christian churches vastly more powerful in education - and cutting out all other faiths, as well as secular schools. Of the 55 approved or in the pipeline so far, 22 academies will be in the control of Christian organisations, which will have the power to decide what is taught and how it is taught. No city academy has been founded by any non-Christian faith. The Christian sponsors are:

- Sir Peter Vardy, creationist and evangelical, whose schools teach that evolution is only a theory, and that it is just as likely that God made the world in six days. Sir Peter intends to run six academies in the north-east.

- The United Learning Trust, a subsidiary of the United Church Schools Trust, will run another eight, in Manchester, Salford, Lambeth, Paddington, Northampton, Barnsley and Sheffield (where it will have two academies).

- Oasis, a Christian trust, will control an academy in Enfield.

“Philanthropists”

Philip Charles Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham

Harris was made a life peer in 1996 and is a Conservative member of the House of Lords. He is the chairman of Carpetright plc and has over 40 years’ experience in carpet retailing and is one of the best known names in the business. He was chairman and chief executive of Harris Carpets. Harris Carpets acquired Queensway in 1977 to become Harris Queensway plc until the company was taken over in 1988. Lord Harris was also a non-executive director of Great Universal Stores plc for 18 years, retiring from the GUS Board in July 2004. Lord Harris became a non-executive director of Matalan in October 2004. He ranked 206th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, with an estimated wealth of £285m. (2004 162nd £254m, 2005 192nd £250m).

Harris made donations to David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party. He is considered to be one of his personal friends and is said to have played a role in convincing Cameron to contest the party's leadership in the summer of 2005. His ties to Cameron came under scrutiny two years later when it appeared that Andrew Feldman, a political associate of his and a fellow donor to Cameron's leadership campaign, used Harris's name to claim privileges accorded to active members of the House of Lords (which Harris, his peerage notwithstanding, had never been.) A report in The Independent newspaper quoted a senior member of the Lords Privileges Committee as suggesting the allegation shows how fundraising "pollutes our politics

He has contributed extensively to education and as a result, many schools and colleges (such as Harris Manchester College, Oxford) bears his name. In the London Borough of Croydon, he sponsored the Harris City Technology College which is now the Harris Crystal Palace Academy. Other Harris academies (which all bear his name are Harris Academy Bermondsey (formerly Bacon’s College, a CTC), Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich, Harris Academy at Peckham (all in Southwark, Harris Academy Merton, Harris Academy South Norwood {many local residents are angered that the original name of the school, Stanley Technical High School, was dropped in place of the Harris name.) Harris Academy Falconwood.

Harris Academy Bermondsey is co-sponsored with the Church of England

All academies report to one Board, chaired by Lord Harris

The Aldridge Foundation (The Darwen Aldridge Community Academy)

The Foundation was established in July 2006 by Rod Aldridge, the founder of the Capita Group, to further the work of his charitable trust primarily focused on the effects of educational underachievement and social exclusion on the young but also in removing the barriers to the reform of public services in general. He retired at the time he founded the Foundation

Rod Aldridge, the executive chairman of Capita - a company through which many government operations have been outsourced - is sponsoring an academy in Burnley. Concerns have been raised about conflicts of interest as Capita has been awarded a contract to manage the government's strategy for improving literacy and numeracy in schools.

Bob Edmiston

Bob Edmiston, is one of the richest men in Britain and founder of the IM Group which is based in West Bromwich and imports cars from the Far East. IM also has a large property portfolio which includes Coleshill Manor, the base for Coleshill Campaigning Services. A Pentecostal Christian, he founded the missionary charity "Christian Vision" which he funds. He apparently has £300m of his personal fortune to give away to good causes

When speaking to the Politics Show West Midlands Edmiston was asked about the ethos of his school. He said it is not a faith school (they run under a separate set of rules) but it will have a Christian ethos and that Christian ethos, values and standards will permeate the whole school. Will creationism be taught? Not in science says Mr Edmiston but it will be taught in RE as allowed under the National Curriculum.

Brian Scowcroft/Andrew Tinkler (Morton Academy, Richard Rose central Academy)

Brian Sowcroft

Following the sale of Swinton Insurance to Sun Alliance in 1998 for £130m, founder Ken Scowcroft passed control of the family's business interests to his eldest son Brian. Brian moved into the industrial property market with Crossley Park in Manchester, before going on to create a property portfolio, currently worth in excess of £80m with sites in Leigh, Stockport, Wrexham, and Carlisle. He is now Chairman and owner of Kingmoor Park Properties Ltd, based in Carlisle. The family are reputedly worth £165m.

Sowcroft is also heavily involved in charity work. He set up Kingmoor Park Charitable Trust in 2002, which together with his own donations, has gifted £1 million to a number of good causes across Cumbria including research into childhood bone cancer.

Andrew Tinkler

Multi millionaire Andrew Tinkler is CEO of Stobart Group Ltd.(or the Eddie Stobart Group), a large integrated logistics company, with operations in the United Kingdom and across Europe. The group operates road, rail and ship based freight transport, and passenger rail and air operations, in the United Kingdom and road transport in Europe Tinkler and his business partner William Stobart bought the company in 2004.

Lord Laidlaw (Excelsior Academy)

Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay, is one of the richest multimillionaires in Scotland having sold his conference and training business, the Institute of International Research (IIR), for £768m Lord Laidlaw gave £3.48m to the Conservatives in 2007, and £25,000 in 2008 towards Boris Johnson’s London mayoral campaign

Lord Laidlaw was nominated for a peerage in 2004. When the Commission vetted the list of party-political nominee, Laidlaw was not resident in the UK, being based in Monaco Following an exchange of correspondence and a face-to-face meeting, the Commission accepted assurances from Lord Laidlaw that he would become resident in the UK for tax purposes from April 2004. On the basis of this assurance the Commission found no objection to his appointment. In June 2004 he was appointed to the House of Lords but did not become resident in the UK for tax purposes. In 2005, as a result of a review of its vetting process, the Commission took the decision that in future it would decline to scrutinise nominees who were not already resident in the UK for tax purposes.

According to reputable newspapers, in 2008 Lord Laidlaw agreed to seek treatment for “sex addiction” at a private residential clinic, after sex parties he funded at a luxury hotel in the principality with male and female prostitutes flown out from Britain, were discovered by a newspaper.

According to the academy website Lord Laidlaw’s vision for the school informs the curriculum and the way the academy is to be run. He intends the school to be a model of educational excellence so that parents and carers will want their children to attend it.

Graham Dacre (Open Academy)

Graham Dacre is a Norfolk evangelical Christian business man who sold East Anglia’s biggest motor retailer, Lind Automotive Group, for over £108 million. Graham Dacre says he was helped in developing the Lind business by the late Rev Robert Lind Gordon, of Proclaimers International, who was the group’s first chairman. “We shared the same Christian faith and together we set out to prove that being a Christian didn’t mean we could not be successful in the corporate arena. My faith has dealt with my past, gives me purpose today and gives me hope for tomorrow.”

Local reports said of the Open Academy development:

The proposals would see Mr Dacre and the Norwich Diocese invest £2m in creating the new academy – in return for influence over the schools admissions policy, curriculum and governing ethos – while the taxpayer would provide the other £20m required to build the school, and thereafter all running costs.

The governing body of Heartsease High voted against closure of the school and opposed its replacement with Norfolk's first academy. Tory leaders of Norfolk County Council were accused of "blindly chasing the government's 30 pieces of silver" by closing a Norwich school to make way for the county's first academy. The plan has run into strong opposition from other councils, teaching unions, governors and teachers at Heartsease High and 550 who signed a petition against the academy plan. Liberal Democrat spokesman Mervyn Scutter said a decision to close Heartsease High would do "nothing to improve the bad image of consultation".
Lord Dacre said : "We consider the opportunity to support an academy in Heartsease as an act of Christian service….The potential academy will not be a faith school. Religious education would be taught from the Norfolk Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, which was adopted for use in all Norfolk schools in September 2005.

David Samworth (City Academy with Nottingham University, Samworth Enterprise Academy, Leicester)

Samworth Brothers is one of the UK's most successful manufacturers of chilled foods, with its own Ginsters and Dickinson and Morris brands. They have 13 manufacturing companies in the East Midlands and Cornwall and employ more than 5500 people. In 2008 it was estimated that David Samworth’s fortune stood at £393m

One of the aims of the Nottingham academy is stated as:

Promote Christian values – we want to create a school based on Christian values. We want our students to respect each other’s views and value their contribution to the community.

The Samworth Enterprise Academy has a fully operational Anglican church on site, offering a complete range of religious services, including funeral services. Allegedly a funeral was held during the school day, with the coffin passing through parts of the school building.

Eric and Grace Payne (Q3 Academy)

Eric Payne and his family owned most of Mita Holdings, a plastics extrusion and injection moulding company in north Wales. Payne's father left him a considerable inheritance after the sale of a family industrial group in 1979. He used part of the funds to start Mita, which was taken over in 1999 by a Danish group for more than £45m. He and his wife Grace founded the Grace Charitable Trust which funded

The school’s ethos states:

“The Academy will not be a church school. It will serve the local diverse community and will be open to students of all faiths and those of none.

The Academy will have a clear ethos, which will be underpinned with a framework of Christian and faith values. It will provide for the development of moral, spiritual, social and cultural convictions”

Martyn Arbib (The Langley Academy)

Martin Arbib sold his stockmarket fund management company Perpetual in 2000 for £1.05bn to Amvescap. The Sunday Times says he took £113m in cash and shares in Amvescap, which could now be worth £200m, so that, with other assets, the family fortune is estimated to be worth £370m. The Arbib Foundation was founded by Arbib in 1987 principally to assist with the establishment and maintenance of the River & Rowing Museum in Henley, for the education of the general public in the history, geography and ecology of the Thames Valley and the Thames. Through the Arbib Foundation that Sir Martyn and his daughter, Annabel Nicoll, have sponsored The Langley Academy.

FUTURE (Pimlico Academy)

Replaced the iconic Pimlico School

Future is a registered charity under the Charities Act, formed in 2007 by John and Caroline Nash. John Nash is a venture capitalist and a former chairman of the British Venture Capital Association, and chairman of a leading private equity provider, Sovereign Capital. Through Sovereign Capital, the private equity firm he founded, Nash is the largest provider of independent special-needs care and the most active investor in healthcare services in the country. Foster agencies, care homes and even one of the country's biggest funeral businesses form part of a vast empire that also takes in exclusive preparatory schools, cleaning companies, building maintenance businesses and security firms. According to some press reports, Nash was pivotal in raising funds for the Conservative leadership challenge by the shadow home secretary David Davis, in 2005. He admits he gave money to the campaign.

Future has strong connections to Alpha Plus, a management business that runs a string of private prep schools but only one secondary school, the exclusive Portland Place, in London's West End. Nash says Alpha Plus will be advising Future on the running of Pimlico.

The decision to pass Pimlico to FUTURE was highly controversial. It was opposed by parents, teachers, pupils, the governors of Pimlico community school and. the Labour group Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of the Labour group said: "It is outrageous that the Conservatives are handing over control to prominent Conservative supporters and that John Nash's Conservative connections are not mentioned in the council cabinet report. What else has the council got to hide about the deal that has been done with the Future charity?"

Greig Trust – Greig Academy, Haringey

David Greig, founded the Trust in memory of his mother in 1949 to provide funds to assist with the education of Hornsey (in Haringey) children in accordance with the Christian faith. David Greig was the name of the supermarket chain of the Greig family. By the 1960s there were more than 160 stores across the country and a fierce rivalry with the Sainsbury family. However, the company collapsed after failure to go public led to crippling death duties when several of the men in the family died in quick succession, with inheritance tax obligatory on their entirely private holdings.

The academy website says:

Greig City Academy is a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic community. Everything we do is underpinned by Christian values that are shared by those of other faiths and those with no religious faith. Our part-time Chaplain, Fr. Patrick Henderson, is available to support students, their families and members of staff. A chapel, at the heart of the school, is a quiet place for personal reflection, prayer and for meeting with the Chaplain.

Sir David Garrard (Bexley Academy)

Sir David Garrard is a retired British property developer, who was knighted in the 2003 New Year Honours for his charity work with organizations such as the NSPCC. He founded Minerva PLC, a property investment and development company, whose shares are quoted in the London Stock Exchange FTSE 250 Index, and served as its chairman for many years until his retirement in March 2005 Allders, the retail group that went into receivership, was 60% owned by Minerva, In March he announced his retirement and sold £35m shares in Minerva, where he retains a £15m stake. He has other wealth from past deals and stakes in smaller firms.

Garrard was caught up in the “cash for honours” scandal when he made a secret loan of up to £2 million to the Labour Party and subsequently withdrew his name from the list of nominations for a life peerage after being blocked by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Sir Frank Lowe (Capital City Academy)

Sir Frank Lowe co- founded Lowe Worldwide in 1981. He quit after relations became increasingly fraught with Lowe Worldwide's parent, Interpublic which bought the company in 1990, and launched a new company Red Brick Road, named after the route that Dorothy decided not to follow in the Wizard of Oz. After 15 years with Lowe Worldwide, Tesco pulled its £50m account to go with Lowe’s new company

Lowe was born and bought up in Willesden and said he wished to give something back to the community. He is a Trustee of the Academy and takes an active involvement in its management and affairs.

Emmanuel Schools Foundation (Emmanuel College in Gateshead, King's Academy in Middlesborough and Trinity Academy in Doncaster)

The Emmanuel Schools Foundation - previously the Vardy Foundation after its founder, Sir Peter Vardy controls three academies. A multimillionaire businessman, Vardy, made his money through the Reg Vardy Group (car dealerships).

Vardy is described as an evangelical Christian and the Foundation has attracted controversy because of the strong Christian values employed in its schools, and there have been allegations that creationism was being taught as a science theory. Vardy who remains chairman of the college's board of directors. Another of Emmanuel's directors is Baroness Cox, the Conservative peer who in 1988 sponsored amendments to the education reform bill stating that religious education in state schools should be "in the main Christian". Another associate is Mr Burn, the Vardy Foundation's chief education adviser. Mr Burn is one of the founders of the Newcastle-based Christian Institute, set up in 1991 to promote fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

Alec Reed (West London Academy)

Alec Reed, is founder of the Reed recruitment and training group, a family-owned and run group of companies that places people into temporary and permanent employment across a number of disciplines, including accountancy, administration, computing, education, engineering, and insurance. The company was founded in 1960 by Reed and is currently chaired by his son, James Reed. Reed also offers training and HR consultancy services and was the first private company to deliver the UK Labour Government’s New Deal, welfare-to-work programme.

The Reed Foundation is a charitable foundation set up by Alec Reed. Funds go towards supporting charitable projects and one-off donations. One such donation saw Reed giving one million Rand to the Nelson Mandela Foundation to support education in South Africa.

John Laycock (The City Academy, Bristol)

Co sponsored with the University of the West of England. John Laycock is Chairman of Bristol City Football Club, said:

“Bristol City Football Club is proud to be part of a committed group of sponsors who share a common vision continuously to improve the quality of education for young people in Bristol. Our sponsorship of St George Academy will provide local children with effective role models and our pursuit of excellence will apply to every aspect of the curriculum

Barry Townsley (Stockley Academy)

Barry Townsley CBE is a stockbroker and philanthropist. He sold his stockbroking business, Townsley & Co., to the Dutch private bank Insinger de Beaufort. In June 2005 he set up a financial services venture, Dawnay Day Townsley.

He was a member and supporter of the Labour Party, recorded as donating "more than £5,000" before 2001 and £6,000 since 2001. He also donated £10,000 to the London Mayoral campaign of Frank Dobson. Described as "colourful" by The Sunday Times, Townsley was involved in the so-called "cash for peerages" scandal in March 2006, in which it was revealed that he had lent £1m to the Labour Party at the solicitation of Lord Levy, and contributed £1.5m to a City Academy in Hillingdon. He was nominated for a peerage shortly after making the loan, but in February 2006 he withdrew from the nomination on the grounds of press intrusion into his private life.

Sir Peter Shalson (London Academy, Barnet)

Shalson transformed Braitrim, a coat hanger supplier into a packaging business which he sold for £109m. The sale of Brightview, an internet company, netted him a further £25m. He moved into pubs, and his Pubfolio chain of more than 800 pubs is valued at £250m before tax. He is also chairman of a venture capital company.

Sir Clive Bourne (Mossbourne Community Academy)

Sir Clive Bourne was a British businessman and philanthropist, His father, Moss Bourne, was a founder of Ilford Synagogue. In 1962 he set up an overnight parcel service, Seabourne Express Courier. It became one of the largest firms of its type, He helped to build Kent International Airport's passenger terminal, and when it opened in 1989 he named the VIP lounge after local Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore.

Sir Clive always used his wealth to assist Jewish and other charities. He was a founder patron of Jewish Care and a founder and governor of King Solomon High School, Barkingside. Following his diagnosis with prostate cancer in 1991, he founded the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation. In 1996, he helped to found the Museum of Docklands. In 2002, he bought Hackney Downs School (which had closed in 1995) and engaged Sir Richard Rogers to convert it into a city academy; it is called Mossbourne Community Academy in memory of his father. He took a close interest in it, and visited frequently prior to his death in ?. He was knighted in 2005 (the year after Mossbourne opened).

David Meller (Harefield Academy)

Sponsors are David Meller, Watford Football Club and Haig Oundjian an ex-Olympian, generating a lot of support from sporting organisations.

Meller initially worked for Marks & Spencer for a few months, before joining his family’s business, Julius Meller in 1979. In 1984 David and his brother Michael took

over the company and developed two further arms – manufacturing toiletries and a logistics business. Today, Julius Meller employs over 400 people and has increased its level of activity many times over.

Roger De Haan and Kent County Council (Marlowe Academy)

Roger de Haan, CBE is the son of the late Sidney De Haan, who created the Saga group of companies, mostly famous for selling holidays to the over 50s market. Roger took over Saga in 1984 when his father retired and then ran the company with his brother for a further twenty years, launching Saga-branded radio stations to accompany the group’s holidays and financial services . He chose to leave the business in 2004, selling the entire Saga Group (which included insurance and holiday businesses) to a management buyout for £1.35 billion, although he continued to run some of the radio stations himself. In that year he bought Folkestone Harbour for £11 million. Saga is Folkestone’s only big private employer

Roger De Haan received the CBE for services to business, education and charity in 2004, the year before Marlowe opened and regularly appears in the Sunday Times' 'rich list'

Jack Petchey Foundation (The Petchey Academy)

Jack Petchey was born in 1925 in the East End of London, England. He became a prominent businessman and property developer worth over £500m and in 1999 he established the Jack Petchey Foundation. It focuses on projects and programmes that benefit 11-25 year olds. The main area of operation is the London boroughs and Essex, where it currently operates in 1600 secondary schools and youth clubs. There are smaller programmes elsewhere.

In June 2004 he received an OBE for Services to Young People in East London and Essex through The Jack Petchey Foundation

Andrew Billington, Director of The Jack Petchey Foundation, is chair of The Petchey Academy's Governing Body.

John Madjeski (The John Madjeski Academy)

John Madjeski OBE is a businessman, with a raft of commercial interests, spanning property, broadcast media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football. In 2007, he was in the top 200 wealthiest people in the UK, with a net worth said to be in the region of £400 million (see Sunday Times Rich List 2007). He is also known as chairman of Reading F.C (their stadium is names after him); he is also Chancellor of the University of Reading and Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire. He is a benefactor to many institutions, especially in academia, education and the arts.

After seeing a car sales magazine in the US in the 70s that included pictures of the vehicles on sale Madjeski realised the potential of the idea, and founded Thames Valley Trader in 1976, which later became the Auto Trader. Madejski partnered with the Guardian Media Group in 1982 to give the title national exposure. By 1998, 52 titles were being published with a combined circulation of more than 700,000. In 1998 he sold his company Hurst Publishing for £174 million

Exilarch’s Foundation (Westminster Academy)

Exilarch’s Foundation is the charity of Iraqi born Naim Dangoor who moved to Britain in 1964. His grandfather was a rabbi in Iraq. He has plans to invest money from his charity, the Exilarch's Foundation, into Iraqi schools, hospitals, and property. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Naim Dangoor called on the Iraqi government to compensate Iraqi Jewish exiles for lost assets estimated at $20 billion. He made £10 million available towards reviving Jewish life in Iraq as well as donating to Bar-Ilan university and UK university projects. He has actively promoted Iraqi-Jewish education and history through his (now online) journal The Scribe.
In 2006 he was awarded an OBE for education and Jewish communal philanthropy.
The Foundation also awarded one thousand scholarships for low-income undergraduates at sixteen UK universities and spent millions on educational projects.

David Dangoor is chair of governors at Westminster Academy, described as a new type of school. It represents a new approach to learning which is purposeful and achievement focused. The ethos is business-like. And the curriculum is based on the competences employers have told us they look for in young people, and the learning activities are thematic, relevant and topical. The academy also promotes Global awareness and tolerance. Quotes in its prospectus include Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X and Muhamed Ali

Ormiston Trust (The Gateway Academy and George Salter High School)

The Ormiston Trust, was founded in 1969 in memory of Fiona Ormiston Murray. The initial input was a £500 donation with the expectation that this amount could be substantially increased by an imaginative investment strategy. The Trust's fundamental objective is to fund and provide grants for children, educational organisations and schools.

The trustees made a decision to be pro-active grant makers and take an active part in the organisations they funded. They also wished to work in partnership with stakeholders and to achieve this they formed an operational trust: Ormiston Charitable Trust, now known as the Ormiston Children & Families Trust (OCFT).Ormiston Trust supports children in schools through sponsorship of City Academies and the Ormiston Education

Edubusiness

ARK (Absolute Return for Kids)

Another big player is Hedge Fund manager Arpad Busson, former partner of model Elle Mcpherson. His charity Absolute Return for Kids aims to sponsor at least seven schools - although it pulled out of one proposed in Islington in the face of local protests.

Oasis (Sept 07 Enfield, Immingham and Grimsby. September 2008: Hengrove Oasis Academy Bristol and Portway Oasis Academy (both in Bristol), Oasis Academy MediaCityUK (Salford) and Oasis Academy Coulsdon (Croydon), as well as Oasis Academy Mayfield and Oasis Academy Lord's Hill in Southampton East and West

Oasis UK, a Christian organisation, was founded by Rev Steve Chalke M.B.E. in 1985, began its work in the UK but now delivers educational, healthcare and housing projects throughout the world. Academies are sponsored by Oasis Community Learning, which is a separate charity, but is part of the Oasis Global family

Oasis Academy Immingham website says “The ethos of the Oasis Academy is rooted in Christian-based core values, which permeates every aspect of its life. These include valuing everyone and protecting individual rights to freedom and choice, working actively against discrimination and social exclusion, and respecting the beliefs and practices of others. The Academy provides a welcoming environment for students of all faiths and no faith and serves the whole community”

Girls Day School Trust (GDST)

Established in 1872 with the main objective of advancing the education of young women. The GDST currently owns and runs 29 schools which are located throughout England and Wales, with a concentration of 12 in London. This makes it the largest group of independent schools in the UK, educating 20,000 students each year. GDST is both a registered charity (one of the largest education charities in the UK) and a company limited by shares.
They are overseen by a Council; council members are listed on their website. Introduction

British Edutrust

British Edutrust is a multi faith organisation with the stated aims:

To add value to academies and foster innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

To provide quality education and wider opportunities for all irrespective of ability, gender, faith or race.

To encourage and foster unity, nationhood and citizenship for people from diverse backgrounds.

To work in a technologically and ICT rich environment.

Edutrust has a new approach to academies, working in genuine collaboration with all partners to raise educational standards and the aspirations of young people through creative opportunities and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

Edutrust’s academies are also centres for their communities, forming a focus for activities which relate to family needs and providing lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Diversity, tolerance and equality will be at the core of every activity in the academies in which young people of all races, faiths and cultures will learn and play together, constituting a cohesive society of multicultural Britain.

Edutrust will meet the challenge through partnerships with the government, local authorities, education institutions, corporate sector, trusts, foundations, communities, parents and young people.

Edutrust is funded by a number of “very generous” donors who sit on the Council of Patrons as advisors. The current list of Patrons is as follows: The Ethnic Minority Foundation, The DCD London & Mutual PLC , Habib Bank AG Zurich, The Pears Foundation, The Bestway Foundation, James Caan.

Edutrust says it will adopt and ensure corporate governance best practice in all its undertakings and the trustees reflect the rich diversity of Britain and are the legal guardians of Edutrust and its vision and policies. The following form the Board of Trustees . TheLord Amir Bhatia, OBE - Chair, The Rt Rev and Rt Hon The Lord Carey of Clifton, ALCD BD MT PhD, Professor David Khalili, Sir Anwar Pervez, OBE, Trevor Pears, Noorzaman Rashid, Shabir Randeree, James Caan, Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, Professor Haleh Afshar, OBE, Yasmin Shariff, RIBA FRSA, Martyn Lewis, CBE The Board reports annually to the patrons. There is information on the Edutrust website about each of the trustees.

On 28.11.08 The national press reported that the government had ordered an inquiry into Edutrust after it was accused of mismanaging contracts worth millions of pounds of public money. The former chief executive had his contract ended after he complained of “governance and financing irregularities”

HSBC Education Trust

The HSBC Education Trust, led by Dame Mary Richardson, was established in 2001 to promote the Group’s educational projects in the UK, with the stated aim of seeking to open doors of opportunity for children and to raise standards of education.

The Trust focuses on primary and secondary education programmes for underprivileged children or schools in economically deprived areas. The HSBC Trust supports schools to become specialist sports colleges, business and enterprise colleges or language colleges

Tarmac Ltd.

Tarmac Group, the leading supplier of building materials in the UK, also operates in Europe, India, the Middle East and Far East. Its website states that it works hard to be a good neighbour in the areas in which it operates, working in close partnership with many environmental projects and local communities

Amey plc (Unity City Academy)

One of the leading integrated support service providers in the country, Amey is part of Ferrovial whose shares are listed on the Spanish IBEX35 Stock Exchange Brian Staples, Chief Executive of Amey plc said:

“For us, Unity City Academy is our opportunity to contribute to innovation and leadership in learning - and a strong signal of our commitment to supporting public services in Middlesbrough and the North East’

United Learning Trust (ULT)

The United Church Schools Trust (UCST) is a leading education charity in the UK. . It was founded in 1883 the Church of England on the principles of respect, service and compassion. It has a long tradition in the provision of independent education and boarding, operates 12 fee-paying independent schools across the UK.

The United Learning Trust was established in 2003 to manage a number of Academies spread across the country. ULT is a subsidiary charity of UCST, and shares with it the objective of managing schools which “offer students an education, based on Christian principles of service and tolerance” The Group, state that they are non-denominational and welcome pupils of all faiths and none to their schools..

ULT is the largest single sponsor of academies in the UK with 14 academies currently open and more set to open next year.

Shireland Learning (The Gateway Academy and George Salter High School)

Shireland Learning is a school-based company that has developed a Learning Platform (a powerful web-based framework) tailored to the education system. It has been developed within a school that has over a decade of e-learning development.

They have a content development team that takes curriculum-based storyboards produced by school staff and turns them into individually deliverable resources, providing genuinely practical examples of personalized learning. They claim they can also provide a framework through which schools can manage, deliver and track interactions between members of the school community, such as assessments and pastoral interventions. They also claim they see significant benefits both in their Academies and in the increasing number of their hosted schools in terms of workload reduction, workforce reforms, delivery design and most importantly standards of achievement.

Shireland Learning also provide consultancy and training for school practitioners at all levels, including senior leadership, middle leadership, class teachers and technical staff.

At George Salter? with Derventio development partners they have developed such things as an individual learning plan, CV pages for each student, a facility to allow data such as attendance to be added to students' goal areas and goal reminders

New Line Learning Academies Federation Trust (Cornwallis Academy and new Line Learning Academy)

New Line Learning began as a hard federation of three schools under the direction of one governing body (The Cornwallis Technology College, Senacre School and Oldbough Manor School with Cornwallis as the lead school.) The federation was dedicated to a teaching model that shows pupils how to work independently using project based learning techniques with intensive use of technology and software developed by Cornwallis,

Subsequently, two of the schools were merged on to one site in order to release capital funds towards reconstruction and resulted in the two academies

The New Line Learning appears to be a concept based ‘”fresh” approach to education., based on a simple rationale. Children that enjoy school do better than those that don't. (!!!!) Increasing the proportion of children that enjoy school will support raised standards. The research basis for the changes includes work on emotional intelligence and change management. Some of the approaches and standards taken are:

All Year 7 pupils are to be equipped with portable computers to aid their learning

An integrated Humanities course in years 7 and 8 aimed at teaching pupils how to learn and study independently

Key Stage 3 completed in two years instead of the normal 3, with National Curriculum assessment tests (SATs) being taken in Year 8 instead of Year 9

Key Stage 4 commencing in Year 9 with GCSE examinations taken in Year 10

Early entry into the Sixth Form in Year 11

Reporting to parents on each pupil’s progress every 7 weeks

Students are allowed to listen to music in most lessons, which can be chosen by the teacher.

Perkins Engines (The Thomas Deacon Academy)

Perkins Engines Company Limited has manufactured diesel engines and power solutions and is a leading supplier of diesel engines and gas engines

When the academy opened, claims were made by the school chairmen that the sponsors, city manufacturing giant Perkins Engines, was wielding too much power on the academy's executive board.

UBS (The Bridge Academy)

UBS is one of the world’s leading financial firms, operating in more than 50 countries with around 70,000 employees. UBS’s sponsorship of The Bridge Academy is part of the continuing commitment of the firm and its staff to contribute to the drive for
improved educational standards in Hackney.

UBS say they will bring more to The Bridge Academy than financial contribution; employee volunteers will be able to contribute their skills, and UBS’ team of partners and consultants will bring innovative and creative ideas and practices to the establishment and management of the school.

Holiday Extras/Crown Paints (Spires Academy)

Holiday Extras, established 1983, is the UK market leader for Airport Parking and Airport Hotels. Based in Hythe in Kent, they are a local sponsor

Crown Products started in 1990 in the field of general steel fabrications, welding and shop fitting displays. By 1992 they moved on to mass production of chassis and axle stands. In 2007 Crown Products was acquired by Arleigh International, which supplies replacement parts and accessories to the static caravan industry for over 40 years.