11 Sept 07

Xxxx > Alan

Xxxx > I'm disappointed you've published me without my permission and for your own purposes,

Alan > Firstly, your e-mail contained nothing of a personal nature & I even removed your name. Secondly, the contents of our e-mails are definitely of public interest. It is a matter of grave concern that state funded schools are being handed over to extreme fundamentalist Christian organisations & I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of allowing your rude & bullying correspondents to be just brushed under the carpet.If you’re so concerned about net etiquette, perhaps in future you will start your e-mails with a proper greeting, introduce yourself & put forward an unambiguous & properly constructed argument.

Xxxx > without reference to my reply. Is that the kind of site this is? No debate?

Alan > Have it your way, I have just uploaded your second reply to the website.

Xxxx > I've seen from BBC and Goole Times that Vermuyden improved their %5A*-C GCSE with Englsih and Mathematics by 10% , from 30 to 40%. Yet Trinity went from 20% to 40% - is that Goole 25% improvement and Trinity 100% ?

Alan > if the class average last year was 5 out of 10, and the class average this year is 5 out of 10, but last year Smith scored 1 out of ten & 5 out of 10 this year; then Johnson, who is achieving the class average, improves his results by 0%. Smith on the other hand has improved his by 500%. Are you seriously suggesting that somehow Smith is 500% better than Johnson, even though Smith’s average score is 3 out of 10 & Johnson’s is 5 out of 10! If this is not what you are saying, then perhaps you would like to explain exactly what you are going on about, because I’m confused by it all.

Xxxx > Anyway I think 48% (average improvement) is’nt bad if you want to average compared to Thorne regular 22-25%

Xxxx > You say they improve because of new build but according to the Sunday Telegraph the Bexley Academy is bigger and better than Trinity but it has gone backwards in results failed from 27 to 19%

Alan > I answered that in the previous e-mail. However, if it has nothing to do with the buildings then it must be something else right? Perhaps you would care to give me your opinion on the exact reason why you seem to believe that the ESF can produce superior results to those achievable by a purely secular management.

Alan > Perhaps there are things that the ESF are doing right, such as encouraging their students to work harder. Would you then care to explain precisely why it is that a religiously & politically neutral management, specifically trained to run these establishments, isn’t capable of achieving equal or even better results by doing the same & following a tried & tested method of improving educational standards?

Xxxx > You are the only source I can find asying they are anti gay, talk about hell and push Adan and Eve in Science - no one else in the local press does,

Alan > Some of this answered in previous e-mail. Never mentioned science classes, [Corrected this in edit to: I never mentioned Adam & Eve in science classes (as we all know, the distortions are much subtler than that)] get your facts right. You could have uncovered this information by searching the internet or looking on my website. What is the point of me going to all the trouble of recording all these news stories if you are not willing to read them? I am not your personal, unpaid tutor & furthermore it is in your own interest to at least have some idea what you are talking about, before you go picking arguments with people.

Xxxx > though there was a piece about a woman who's kid could’nt get a place so she was very upset. Why is she upset if it’s such a baaaaaad place?

Alan > I haven’t seen this so I cannot comment further. However, in general, most people are simply to busy to be worrying about the political issues surrounding the Academies Program or they may not have the slightest interest in all the details - in general, most people just want a good local school. Obviously, being a brand spanking new academy then a lot of people are going to be persuaded that it is a good thing for their children. But that of course doesn’t invalidate a single criticism of the ESF or the Academies Program.

Alan > Incidentally, a sample of one proves nothing. There have been plenty of other people complaining about the heavy handed treatment of their children whilst at TA; these are in the archive.

Xxxx > I see they have a website

http://www.emmanuelctc.org.uk/thefoundation/thefoundation/

Xxxx > It says all of their schools have got their best ever results this year- come on man

Alan > I have answered some of these questions in previous emails & further information can be found in the FAQ section of the website. But again, how does that invalidate the criticism aimed at the ESF? If the Chinese Communist Party or the Ku Klux Klan opened an academy with the declared aim of winning converts to their respective causes, how can something so self-evidently wrong suddenly become right, just because they achieve above average exam results?

Xxxx > On the point of managerial weaknesses I see that the web is full of stuff about a head called Tony Brookes who left and then the school improved so you might have a point there. But I see that you put this guys letters on your site complaining about Trinity as if he was an authority - you cant have it both ways.

Alan > Tony Brookes is entitled to put his side of the story & air his concerns on the subject, which I think included those about the relocation of the youth club. Why I cannot keep a record of Tony Brooke’s letters (along with all the other letters) on the site & also comment on other issues relating to Thorne Grammar is beyond me.

Alan > Moreover, perhaps you would like to point out where exactly on the site I have put his letters, “as if he was an authority”? As far as I can remember his comments are in the letters section, along with everyone else’s comments, for & against.

Xxxx > Disappointed Xxxx

Alan > Tell me about. Alan.