These are Government-funded independent schools, where the Government finds a sponsor who puts in up to £2m. The government then puts up £25m to have the school built under Private Finance Initiative (PFI), which is twice the amount it costs to build a normal state comprehensive.
The sponsor appoints the governors, the school staff, and has control over the school curriculum.
Not only is the Government to allow academies to opt out of one of their major educational reforms, ie the General Teaching Council (GTC), a body that looks after standards in teaching, but also to be outside of local authority control.
Eventually, the sponsor gets to keep the land that the school stands on, which could mean that after 25 or 30 years he could recoup his original £2m outlay. The Government pays for the upkeep of the school, ie repairs and maintenance of the building, and the cost of the staff wages, etc.
The purpose of the academies is to drive up standards, which means exam results. In order to achieve this the sponsor will headhunt a headteacher with an excellent track record and with top teachers to match by paying above the national average in wages.
The sponsor can afford to do this because the Government is carrying all before it, ie paying the bills, which really means the general taxpayer.
There are 47 such academies at present (an idea the Government took from the Tories) with plans for up to 200 at an estimated cost of £2.5 billion – all to be built under PFI. However, to date only four sponsors have paid in the £2m that they are supposed to, which makes me wonder whether or not these sponsors' shares will end up being paid by the taxpayer?
Under present legislation academies are going to be allowed to select ten per cent of their pupil intake, which means there will be less places for Blyth students. Parents from surrounding areas will be fighting to get their children into the academy, at the expense of those in Blyth.
And what will there be to stop any future Tory Government from allowing the academies to select 50 per cent or more of their pupil intake? Remember, this Bill has gone through Parliament with the help of Tory MPs. Is this not opening the door for a return to selection?
And if the county councillors think that they will have one or two less schools to pay for, they can think again. The DfES will know what it has spent on the academies and that money will be deducted from the remaining money for education sent to the rest of Northumberland's schools. The other schools will get a reduction in their budgets – not more.
And does Ashington need an academy? Did we not see a letter in the press recently from the Chair of Governors at Hirst High School telling us that examination results in 2005 were the best in the history of the school and represented a gain of 14 per cent, and that the school was the most improved high school in the Northumberland LEA.
The 'cycle of under performance' cited by former Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has been broken at Hirst. Also, building two academies in south east Northumberland under PFI will lay a massive burden on council taxpayers for many years into the future.
And did not the Labour Party fight for decades to get rid of selection and bring in all inclusive comprehensive schools?
So why are the Labour county councillors opening the door on selection again on promises of money they will never see? Everyone knows they will never get the finance to bring about two-tier education in all of Northumberland.
R M NIXON
Liberal Democrat District Councillor
Parkside Ward
Cramlington




It's ludicrous not to explore academies opportunity

LAST week in Blyth a meeting was organised by people 'opposed to academies'. As this was the wording on the posters advertising the meeting I imagine there was little room for a balanced or fair debate.
For many years Northumberland County Council and the six district councils have been arguing the case for greater levels of Central Government resource.
So is it not extremely odd that I am currently being asked to reject almost out of hand what can only be described as a huge potential investment for Blyth and Ashington – the potential for £50million of new, guaranteed funding for building two new schools.
Such flagship schemes can surely only bring more regeneration and new opportunities for our young people and communities. Is that a bad thing?
There are arguments about, and indeed is opposition to, the use of Private Finance arrangements to help fund academies; but it is absolutely clear that the Government is committed to providing 200 such establishments.
Academies will be an integral part of the national educational system and there is currently significant over-subscription by councils the length and breadth of the country seeking to have such a resource in their 'patch'. Sunderland MBC for example is just one of the many local authorities currently making a bid for three such establishments.
Unlike some of the critics of the academy set-up who would have us reject the proposals without further consideration, I have visited the Kings Academy in Middlesbrough and Emmanuel College Gateshead, both are financed and run by the Vardy organisation, both of which actually deliver the improvements to educational standards we would all surely wish to see in our towns.
Prior to my visits I could at best be described as being sceptical of what I was about to see; however I rapidly became convinced otherwise.
There have been many statements about the effect that another educational establishment might have on the existing Blyth Community College, even suggestions that the college would somehow be allowed to become a "sink school."
Clearly this would not be allowed to happen by staff, governing body, the parents or Northumberland County Council. Indeed to even suggest that this would happen is an insult to the hard work of all those at Blyth Community College.
The whole ethos behind the proposal is to drive up standards and life chances for present and future generations of students in Blyth. The schools and their communities would greatly benefit by working in partnership.
I do not want to see our young people disadvantaged, being taught in a system which leaves them out of kilter with the rest of the national system, and not being given the best opportunities we can provide them with.
In my view it would be ludicrous to not explore this massive opportunity for the children of Blyth and Ashington and ultimately Northumberland.
More choice, better opportunities, regeneration for the community – is that a bad thing?
The proposals and feasibility for the two academies are currently being developed. As part of this we will be consulting formally with the people of Blyth and Ashington in the Autumn. 
I believe that people need to hear the facts and other points of view, and only when they do they will then be able to make their minds up for themselves.
COUN BILL BROOKS
Leader
Northumberland County Council




Why such a short consultation period?

HERE we go again! Having been told by Justice Mumby that Northumberland County Council's consultation on two-tier versus three-tier education systems was unfair and unlawful we now see that Northumberland County Council are to consult over a rushed period of ONE WEEK with parents in Cramlington.
They propose that over four days they will have meetings at 13 schools. Why so rushed? – To keep to their original timeline of course, come what may.
We are told that alternative proposals for education in Cramlington may be submitted and that these will be considered as part of the consultation exercise, but that the final decision on which proposal to pursue will be made by the council's executive.
This is of course, the same Labour executive that ignored their own officers advice to postpone the implementation of Putting the Learner First in Cramlington by one year. The executive voted to push on regardless, despite the fact that it means children in portable accommodation (£750,000 worth paid for by the council tax payer) for several years to come.
What attention is this executive likely to pay to alternative models?
We deserve better – we want local fire stations, schools, libraries, care homes, home school transport – we are paying for it but the council is consistently failing to deliver and is ever wanting to reduce the level of services provided.
It would, of course, blame central government for lack of funding.
I would blame the county council for not putting a strong enough case forward to attract the funding that we as Northumbrians deserve.
Mr S J WILSON
Blyth




Charity in fundraising appeal

CRUSE Bereavement Care Tyneside is an organisation which offers support and counselling to the Bereaved and is part of Cruse UK, a highly respected national charity that has been in existence for over 40 years.
They use a team of volunteer counsellors who offer one-one counselling and also run support groups that provide a safe environment for bereaved people to meet others who have had a similar experience.
At the moment they are experiencing great difficulty in raising funds. The branch is mainly supported by donations from clients, small donations from Trusts and fund raising events eg: coffee mornings.
There are 50 trained Bereavement volunteers and in the past month 17 new Bereavement Support volunteers have joined the branch. This level of staffing is necessary because of the heavy demand for the service.
At the moment there is a waiting list of eight weeks and this can be difficult for people suffering the severe first pangs of grief. During 2004-2005, 60 per cent of referrals came from GPs, and the remainder came from all sections of the community 250 clients were given bereavement support in the year and it is virtually impossible to gauge the benefit of this support to the community as well as to individuals in terms of the relief of depression and reducing the load on doctors and other support services.
They have a good team of dedicated volunteers who are doing a wonderful job in supporting people at a difficult and painful time.
They are afraid if they are unable to receive funding they are in danger of being unable to continue this work. If there is any individual or organisation who can help us with funds or in fundraising we would be very grateful.
DENISE ROBERTSON
Cruse Bereavement Care Tyneside
St Gabriel's Centre
Heaton
Newcastle upon Tyne




Where are the RN Electricians?

MIKE CROWE, ex-REM, asks where are RN Electricians?
The torpedo branch was the electrical branch before 1960. AB/STs had eight weeks training which included two weeks on electrics.
We studied all about Birmingham Cruisers. In 1942, 32 of us went to USA and became landing craft wiremen.
We each took our LCI which carried 200 soldiers. Landing craft wiremen were made up to POs doing the same job as us. All our report card stated was on loan to combined operations.
We sailed on the Queen Mary which had just collided with the Curacoa and drowned 700 sailors. It went to Boston Massachusetts for repair.
I wonder if there are any of those torpedo men still around.
JOE RILEY AB/ST
from LCI 116 P/JX322280
Church Avenue
West Sleekburn
Choppington




Shrewd move with brown bin

YOU have been getting a few letters recently from irate people in Blyth Valley about having to pay £18 for a brown bin.
At least if you have to pay for the bin you are going to use it, every household got a blue bin issued and how many people use them? Some people never!! and it would be the same if they were issued with the brown bin. I think it is shrewd thinking on the council's part – the money can be used for better things.
Anyway, a one off payment of £18 isn't much. My son who lives in Cheshire has to pay £20 per year for the privilege.
G LEECH
Cramlington




Nice to know someone is behind us on issue

I WOULD like to thank Mr McPherson for the letter he wrote about our village.
I wish there were more people like him. It's nice to know someone is behind us on this matter.
We could do with some more people objecting to the landfill leachate, so I say thank you very much for your letter.
MRS M JOHNSON
North Season Colliery
Ashington