The Harris Federation will no longer take over a controversial London academy whose DfE funding agreement is being terminated.
Durand Academy, in Lambeth, has been at the centre of disputes over the salary for its former headteacher, land ownership and its complex governance arrangements for many years.
The Harris Federation highlighted “some risky legal agreements” between the school and the Durand Education Trust, which owns the land and property used by the academy, and the investment needed in Durand’s buildings.
Last year, the DfE gave a year’s notice that it would end the funding of Durand Academy Trust, which operates the school, citing breaches of its funding agreement, and in November it emerged that it wanted the top-rated Harris Federation to take it over.
Durand’s governors mounted a campaign against the proposal, calling for it to instead be sponsored by Dunraven Education Trust, which is based at Dunraven School, an all-through institution in Lambeth.
In April, Durand Academy Trust governors ended their campaign against the Harris Federation, but today the DfE announced that Harris will not now sponsor Durand, and an agreement has been reached in principle for Dunraven to instead take it over.
It said that following “in-depth consideration of what is best for pupils”, it had agreed with Harris that is was “not best-placed to take on Durand Academy at this time”.
‘Risky agreements’
A Harris Federation spokesperson said Durand’s governors only gave it the financial, legal and capital information it needed for due diligence last month, and Harris’s finance board “reviewed this information and judged that we could not proceed”.
She added: “Aside from some risky legal agreements with Durand Educational Trust which could not be untangled in time for the school to transfer to a new trust in June, the board was concerned that meeting the significant needs of Durand’s building would depend too heavily on the resources of our other schools.
“This would not be fair on our existing students, parents or staff, especially as it is not even a year since we took on the Business Academy in Bexley, a school that has needed substantial investment from the federation.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our priority is to make sure all children get a world-class education, and we are therefore pleased to confirm that Dunraven Educational Trust has agreed in principle to take over Durand Academy.
“Dunraven has a strong performance record, is popular with parents and already has an existing relationship with Durand Academy. Durand Academy will be transferred by September and our efforts will be focused on minimising disruption for pupils and staff during this time.”
