Emmanuel Schools Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Emmanuel Schools Foundation (ESF) is a charitable trust which has been involved in education since 1989.
ESF sponsored four schools: Emmanuel City Technology College
in Gateshead
(opened 1990), The King's Academy
in Middlesbrough
(2003), Trinity Academy
in Thorne, Doncaster
(2005) and Bede Academy
in Blyth, Northumberland
which opened in September 2009. In 2004, the Foundation's former chairman, Sir Peter Vardy
, discussed an aim to sponsor seven schools in the North of England that would educate a total of 10,000 students.
Its four schools have been oversubscribed every year.
Although the Government allows academies to select 10% of pupils by ability, ESF Academies do not do so, being fully comprehensive school
s for local children. They have a Christian ethos, but are not faith schools and welcome staff and students of all faiths and of none.
responded to the then Government’s appeal to local businessmen to become involved in the education of young people in the most socio-economically deprived parts of their home regions through sponsorship of the City Technology College
initiative. The aim of the initiative was twofold:
The first ESF school, Emmanuel City Technology College
, was founded in 1990 as Tyneside
’s City Technology College and opened with just 150 students in Year 7. John Burn (Headteacher of Long Benton) had been instrumental in persuading Peter Vardy to engage in the CTC programme. Originally specialising in Technology, the College was awarded a second specialism in Business and Enterprise (2005), allowing it to build upon its Beacon School
and current Leading Edge Status through its extensive work in delivering specialist teaching programmes within Primary Schools.
ESF went on to open its next two schools in 2003 and 2005. However, the Foundation's approach was not universally welcomed, and in 2004 opponents blocked the Foundation's bid to take over Northcliffe School in Conisbrough
, near Doncaster
, which Ofsted had placed under special measures
.
In September 2009 it was announced that David Wootton would join from the Grace Foundation to become ESF's first Chief Executive. In February 2010, the Foundation announced that Sir Peter Vardy was to step down as chairman, to be succeeded by his brother, David Vardy, who had previously been Project Director of the foundation, overseeing the building of the schools.
In September 2009 ESF also opened its fourth school, Bede Academy, which is its first covering the whole school age range of 3-18, with Nursery, Primary and Secondary provision across two sites in Blyth on the Northumberland coast. Specialising in Engineering and Enterprise, the school focuses on extending conventional perceptions of engineering by providing specialist insights into aspects of biotechnology, environmental science and recycling technologies, sound and computer network engineering, medical and animal science, and naval and automotive systems and design.
In October 2010 it was announced that Sir Peter Vardy was handing over management of the schools to the United Learning Trust
.
A 2009 report on the The King's Academy by Ofsted referred to many improvements, with the school officially ranked as "good, with many outstanding features". Inspectors said the academy was exceptional when it came to boosting students' personal development and well-being, and offering them care, guidance and support.
alleged that creationism
was taught in biology
classes at Emmanuel College. Steven Layfield, the College's Head of Science and a creationist, had delivered a lecture urging teachers to promote creationism to pupils, parents, and colleagues, including in science classes. Layfield later resigned from the board of a creationist body to underscore the separation between his private views and the school's teaching of science.
After reviewing the material used to teach science at Emmanuel College, Mike Tomlinson, chief inspector of Ofsted, decided that the matter did not need to be pursued further. The next Ofsted
inspection in 2006 described the school as 'Outstanding' and found no problem with its science provision.
In 2005, John Harris
in The Guardian
accused Emmanuel Schools Foundation of promoting fundamentalist Christianity
.
In 2006, a follow-up article by Martin Wainwright
in the The Guardian
was strongly supportive of ESF, and said that associating its schools with creationism "couldn't be more wrong."
In 2006 for Channel 4 Rod Liddle interviewed ex-pupils for a show titled "New Fundamentalists" alleging their teachers were creationists, and had promoted creationism in class.
Political opponents of academies continued to refer to the original accusation. After Tribune
magazine published such an article in 2009, Peter Vardy took legal action against the magazine and its editor, who apologised, withdrew the allegations, and made an undisclosed payment to a nominated charity.
ESF sponsored four schools: Emmanuel City Technology College
Emmanuel City Technology College
Emmanuel College is a secondary school based in Gateshead, England. It was founded in 1990 as a City Technology College, i.e. a secondary school which is partly funded by donations from business donors who remain involved in management of the college. Emmanuel now instructs up to 1,250 students...
in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
(opened 1990), The King's Academy
The King's Academy
The King's Academy is an 11–19 secondary school and academy located in Coulby Newham in the borough of Middlesbrough and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, serving the community of South Middlesbrough. Established in 2003, it is run by the Emmanuel Schools Foundation...
in Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
(2003), Trinity Academy
Trinity Academy, Thorne
Trinity Academy is a non-selective co-educational secondary school in the English Academy programme, at Thorne near Doncaster, South Yorkshire....
in Thorne, Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
(2005) and Bede Academy
Bede Academy
Bede Academy is an 3–18 academy located in Blyth, Northumberland, England. Opened in 2009, it is run by the Emmanuel Schools Foundation established by entrepreneur Sir Peter Vardy...
in Blyth, Northumberland
Blyth, Northumberland
Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 21 kilometres northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne...
which opened in September 2009. In 2004, the Foundation's former chairman, Sir Peter Vardy
Peter Vardy (businessman)
Sir Peter Vardy is a British businessman and philanthropist from Houghton-le-Spring in Durham. His business interests have been mainly in the automotive retail business...
, discussed an aim to sponsor seven schools in the North of England that would educate a total of 10,000 students.
Its four schools have been oversubscribed every year.
Although the Government allows academies to select 10% of pupils by ability, ESF Academies do not do so, being fully comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
s for local children. They have a Christian ethos, but are not faith schools and welcome staff and students of all faiths and of none.
History
In 1988, Sir Peter VardyPeter Vardy (businessman)
Sir Peter Vardy is a British businessman and philanthropist from Houghton-le-Spring in Durham. His business interests have been mainly in the automotive retail business...
responded to the then Government’s appeal to local businessmen to become involved in the education of young people in the most socio-economically deprived parts of their home regions through sponsorship of the City Technology College
City Technology College
In England, a City Technology College is a state-funded all-ability secondary school that charges no fees but is independent of local authority control, being overseen directly by the Department for Education....
initiative. The aim of the initiative was twofold:
- To engage business people who had been successful in turning around failing businesses in using their experience to help turn around failing schools, and
- To create beacons of academic excellence in inner-city areas which would be able to show other parents, teachers and students what was possible.
The first ESF school, Emmanuel City Technology College
Emmanuel City Technology College
Emmanuel College is a secondary school based in Gateshead, England. It was founded in 1990 as a City Technology College, i.e. a secondary school which is partly funded by donations from business donors who remain involved in management of the college. Emmanuel now instructs up to 1,250 students...
, was founded in 1990 as Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
’s City Technology College and opened with just 150 students in Year 7. John Burn (Headteacher of Long Benton) had been instrumental in persuading Peter Vardy to engage in the CTC programme. Originally specialising in Technology, the College was awarded a second specialism in Business and Enterprise (2005), allowing it to build upon its Beacon School
Beacon School
Beacon School was a government designation awarded to outstanding primary and secondary schools in England and Wales from 1998 to August 2005. The Beacon Schools programme identified schools that were examples of good practice and funded those schools to enable them to build partnerships with each...
and current Leading Edge Status through its extensive work in delivering specialist teaching programmes within Primary Schools.
ESF went on to open its next two schools in 2003 and 2005. However, the Foundation's approach was not universally welcomed, and in 2004 opponents blocked the Foundation's bid to take over Northcliffe School in Conisbrough
Conisbrough
Conisbrough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is located roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at...
, near Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, which Ofsted had placed under special measures
Special measures
Special measures is a status applied by Ofsted and Estyn, the schools inspection agencies, to schools in England and Wales, respectively, when it considers that they fail to supply an acceptable level of education and appear to lack the leadership capacity necessary to secure improvements...
.
In September 2009 it was announced that David Wootton would join from the Grace Foundation to become ESF's first Chief Executive. In February 2010, the Foundation announced that Sir Peter Vardy was to step down as chairman, to be succeeded by his brother, David Vardy, who had previously been Project Director of the foundation, overseeing the building of the schools.
In September 2009 ESF also opened its fourth school, Bede Academy, which is its first covering the whole school age range of 3-18, with Nursery, Primary and Secondary provision across two sites in Blyth on the Northumberland coast. Specialising in Engineering and Enterprise, the school focuses on extending conventional perceptions of engineering by providing specialist insights into aspects of biotechnology, environmental science and recycling technologies, sound and computer network engineering, medical and animal science, and naval and automotive systems and design.
In October 2010 it was announced that Sir Peter Vardy was handing over management of the schools to the United Learning Trust
United Learning Trust
The United Learning Trust is an education charity and the largest single sponsor of academies in the UK with 20 academies and one City Technology College currently open. ULT's objective is to bring out "the best in everyone", driving educational improvement across its family of academies and...
.
Academic successes
Emmanuel College claims that its students, taught as part of a mixed, non-selective comprehensive school, perform significantly above all value-add measures and their academic results have placed the College amongst the highest ranked schools in England for the past ten years.A 2009 report on the The King's Academy by Ofsted referred to many improvements, with the school officially ranked as "good, with many outstanding features". Inspectors said the academy was exceptional when it came to boosting students' personal development and well-being, and offering them care, guidance and support.
Controversy
In 2002, a group of leading scientists including Richard DawkinsRichard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
alleged that creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
was taught in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
classes at Emmanuel College. Steven Layfield, the College's Head of Science and a creationist, had delivered a lecture urging teachers to promote creationism to pupils, parents, and colleagues, including in science classes. Layfield later resigned from the board of a creationist body to underscore the separation between his private views and the school's teaching of science.
After reviewing the material used to teach science at Emmanuel College, Mike Tomlinson, chief inspector of Ofsted, decided that the matter did not need to be pursued further. The next Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection in 2006 described the school as 'Outstanding' and found no problem with its science provision.
In 2005, John Harris
John Harris (critic)
John Rhys Harris is a British journalist, writer, and critic.-Early life:Harris was raised in Wilmslow in north Cheshire by a university lecturer and a teacher, daughter of a nuclear research chemist...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
accused Emmanuel Schools Foundation of promoting fundamentalist Christianity
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
.
In 2006, a follow-up article by Martin Wainwright
Martin Wainwright
Martin Wainwright MBE is a British journalist and author.He was born in Leeds, and educated at Shrewsbury School and Oxford University. His father Richard Wainwright was the Liberal MP for Colne Valley after a career in accountancy.Wainwright is The Guardians Northern Editor...
in the The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
was strongly supportive of ESF, and said that associating its schools with creationism "couldn't be more wrong."
In 2006 for Channel 4 Rod Liddle interviewed ex-pupils for a show titled "New Fundamentalists" alleging their teachers were creationists, and had promoted creationism in class.
Political opponents of academies continued to refer to the original accusation. After Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
magazine published such an article in 2009, Peter Vardy took legal action against the magazine and its editor, who apologised, withdrew the allegations, and made an undisclosed payment to a nominated charity.
External links
- BCSE article on The Emmanuel Schools Foundation
- The Emmanuel Schools Foundation's official site
- Emmanuel College's official site
- The King's Academy's official site
- Trinity Academy's official site
- Bede Academy's official site
- The Vardy Group official site OfstedOfstedThe Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
reports Ofsted reports Ofsted reports