Voice of Lincoln: schools vs. academies

By Chelsea Buckthorp chelsea

Discussions are taking place over whether or not to offer more schools in Lincoln the opportunity to become academies rather than state schools, and The Lincolnite asked whether you think this would be a good idea.

Becoming an academy would reduce the involvement of local government in the way individual establishments run their school, including how they spend their money.

It would also allow the school to take funding from outside sources such as local businesses or charities. We asked you what you thought of this new scheme:

Adam Pegg, 27, Lincoln

Adam Pegg

“I don’t really know much about it at the minute, but it is probably worth looking into if it could improve education. It depends what kind of students you get there, because different students with different needs might have more individual requirements that the school could cater for better under this scheme.”

Helen Wallace, 23, Lincoln

Helen Wallace

“I think it would be a good thing because head teachers would get more autonomy, and they get to decide what’s best for their school and they get to control their budgets better, which has to be good thing. But on the other side, there could be implications for staff, such as hours and what they’re expected to do, above and beyond their role. So we need further information on that. I also think that because it’s such a new scheme, it has to be trialled, so we’ll see. I’m sceptical though.”

Jamie, Lincoln

Jamie

“It sounds ok in principle. I wouldn’t like to see any pupils not benefit in any way so if they do have individuals that need extra attention, sometimes the money can only come from outside, perhaps. There might be cases in state schools where funding has dropped that would allow them to have free music lessons or things like that, but if they could get extra funding from somewhere else because they were an academy that would surely be a good thing, wouldn’t it?”

Anna Hargens, 22, Nettleham

Anna Hagens

“I suppose the good thing is that becoming an academy gives the school more independence as to some of the directions they want to take. But also, I guess a worry is, whether it could mean some schools might start trying to become more elitist with regards to who they let in, especially if they start striving for better grades. So it’s something I’m not sure whether I agree with or not.”

Chelsea studied English Literature at Kingston University London and has also completed a work experience placement at Morton’s Media. She loves reading, dancing and visiting National Trust sites.