Budget: Bradford academy chain boss to lead plan for transforming schools in the North

THE HEAD of a Bradford academy chain has been asked by the Government to produce a plan to transform education standards in the North.
Sir Nick Weller.  Picture by Tony JohnsonSir Nick Weller.  Picture by Tony Johnson
Sir Nick Weller. Picture by Tony Johnson
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George Osborne announced that Sir Nick Weller, the chief executive of Dixons Academies, would report on how schools in the North of England could be turned around in the same way that London’s education system has been.

This is part of a new Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy backed by £20m of government funding a year.

The budget says: “New funding will ensure rapid action is taken to tackle the unacceptable divides that have seen educational progress in some parts of the North lag behind the rest of the country.”

In his speech the Chancellor said: “We’re going to focus on the performance of schools in the north, where results have not been as strong as we’d like.

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“London’s school system has been turned around; we can do the same in the Northern Powerhouse and I’ve asked outstanding Bradford head teacher Sir Nick Weller to provide us with a plan.”

Sir Nick said: “Economic regeneration is impossible without an effective education system. I am very excited to have the opportunity to chair this commission to identify some of the problems faced by schools in the North and how they need to be tackled.”

He said he expected the commission would gather evidence for six months before producing recommendations.

Sir Nick leads the Dixons Academies Trust and was previously the principal of its first school Dixons City Academy.

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Dixons has a strong track record in the city where it now runs eight schools. In 2014 one of its schools, Dixons Trinity, became the first secondary free school to be rated as outstanding and the academy trust has also been given backing to open a new free school in Leeds. Mr Osborne’s announcement today follows a high profile debate on what can be done to raise standards in education in Yorkshire and the North of England.

Ofsted’s annual report at the end of last year warned that Yorkshire has fewer schools that are rated good or better than any other region in the country.

Ofsted’s chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has called on local political leaders to lead the drive to improve school standards in under performing areas.

And the education watchdog’s regional director for Yorkshire and the North East suggested a series of “sub-regional” schemes could be launched across Yorkshire. Nick Hudson told The Yorkshire Post that the region was too big to have one school improvement scheme similar to the City Challenge which has been credited with helping to transform standards in London schools more than a decade ago.

However he suggested that separate schemes which brought together efforts around West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the “authorities which hug the Humber” could be launched.