The Open Academy

I have heard quite a lot via the press about the proposal to turn Heartsease High School into an Academy, most of it seems to be negative. Most of my information previously about Academies has stemmed from Dave Gallop who used to work with Steve Chalke whose organisation Faithworks is behind the installation of Academies elsewhere in the country. The stuff that he told me about was very positive. I believe that the time has come for me to do some research and find out more about what Academies are and what it means for a school to become one.
I have had a very interesting conversation with Joolian about this document called "The Open Academy Draft Education Brief". It's a very interesting read outlining the ethos, specialisms and structure of the proposed Academy.
According to the Faithworks site a City Academy is:

A government initiative designed to promote new schools being developed through partnerships between central government, a local authority and a sponsor organisation (which could be a private sector company, voluntary sector organisation or faith group).

Some questions that have occurred to me:

• Is this what Heartsease staff and pupils want?
• Why does it have to be an academy?
• How will this impact the community?
• Can the ethos and aspirations of the community be altered in another way?
• Why are people so against it?
• What should my response be as a Christian, a parent, an employer within the current school and a citizen of Norwich?
• Should we be wary of wealthy Christians bearing gifts?
• What has been the impact of Academy status schools in other areas?
• And were they so opposed in their inception?
  

Plus I'm sure there are many others that I haven't thought of...
I would be really interested in hearing your thoughts about this issue. Please do leave some comments.