Woodard Corporation wages class War in Sussex

Teachers are up in arms about the proposal for the unelected Woodard Corporation to take over three schools in West Sussex.

The stated aim of the Woodard Corporation is Class War. Its founder Nathaniel Woodard explicitly sought to educate the middle classes to keep the working classes in their place

'... till the Church educates and trains up the middle classes, she can never effectually educate the poor'

One hesitates to think what sort of admission policy these far-right Christians might have. Teaching on controversial issues like gay marriage, abortion or God forbid women priests would be a nightmare.

However they are not having it all their own way. The following press statement from the West Sussex Teachers Association suggests opposition is growing:

Teachers in West Sussex are planning a campaign against proposals to turn three of the County's secondary schools into Academies, starting with a Public Meeting on Thursday 7 February at 7.30pm in the Assembly Rooms, Worthing. Dave Thomas, local Secretary for the National Union of Teachers, said:
We are opposed to Academies in West Sussex because:
they undermine democratically controlled Local Authorities,
they put schools in the hands of unaccountable sponsors,
they threaten teachers' pay and working conditions,
they will introduce three more schools of a faith character, with minimal consultation and a reduction in parents' choice.
At a meeting of West Sussex NUT held on Wed 16th Jan, the following motion was passed unanimously:
'WSTA is opposed to the establishment of Academies in West Sussex. It further deplores the lack of consultation by the Woodard Corporation and WSCC with the staff and their representatives in the schools concerned, namely, Boundstone CC, Kings Manor CC and Littlehampton CC.'
The meeting was attended by NUT members from all three schools and from other schools throughout West Sussex.
The public meeting is open to parents, teachers, support staff and others with an interest in state education to allow them an opportunity to air their concerns.