London firm to run school on social club site

EDUCATION chiefs have completed the purchase of a former Burton social club site for a new primary school — and chosen the private firm they want to run it.

Staffordshire County Council has bought the Belvedere Park Club site, in Belvedere Road, from owner Westbourne Leisure and selected London-based education provider Reach 2 as its ‘preferred choice’ to run the school…

Head teacher Steve Lancashire Hillyfield Academy, Reach 2

Head teacher Steve Lancashire heads up Reach 2, the educational trust which runs two schools in London and has been selected by Staffordshire County Council to run its new ‘Belvedere Park Academy’ read full article: Burton Mail

Update: 19th April 2012

The page below has been removed overnight from REAch 2 website, mmm what is going on?

A ‘SUPER-HEAD’ believed to be Britain’s highest paid teacher is to open a new academy in Croydon. Mark Elms earned £276,523 in one year and is already the executive head of Aerodrome School, in Waddon. Now his Reach2 academy trust has been selected to open a new school on the site of the Davidson Centre, in Addiscombe – less than a month after Mr Elms announced his retirement from his flagship academy in Lewisham. Croydon Council has been working with the Department for Education (DfE) to find an organisation to run the school since it rejected the two remaining bids last month. It suggested Mr Elms and Reach2, an appointment Education Secretary Michael Gove has now approved…Read full article This is Croydon Today

Gove gives the go-ahead to a company that was only established 7 weeks ago, see details of REAch 2 below:

Read Article Here

Mark Elms leaves the Tidemill Governors meeting

Earlier today, children brought home a letter addressed from the Head Teacher Mark Elms – announcing his intention to retire at the end of the academic year in August 2012!

This News comes as a shock! it has only been a few months after Mr Elms – against the preferences of both Lewisham Council and Tidemill parents – has taken the school out of local authority jurisdiction to become an Academy.

Mark Elms previously reassured both parents and governors that he would be leading them into the future. So Why Is He Leaving? Is there any coincidence between the story in the Mirror last Saturday? What has happened since he last assured, that he would lead us into the future?

See letter resignation letter below

I wonder  which were the “nationally

important educational bodies and

initiatives” that allowed Mr Elms to

generate an income of £175,000 for

the school and which prompted the

governors to award him £20,000 in

bonuses: was the money earmarked

for any particular purpose(s) ?

Mirror link