Exclusive By Emily Parsons

Last updated at 14:30, Friday, 30 March 2012

Two-thirds of a £12 million Government bailout to help struggling academy schools came to Carlisle.

Mike Gibbons

It has emerged that Carlisle’s two Richard Rose academies – Central and Morton – were given £8m over an 18-month period.

But the man at the helm of the schools says they will need no more help as finances are pulled back on track.

Between April 2010 and November 2011, the Young People’s Learning Agency, a quango, handed out £12m to help academies across England balance their books.

Of that, the Richard Rose Central Academy received £6.6m and the Richard Rose Morton Academy received £1.4m. The figures come as a consultation over the loss of 50 jobs at the two academies draws to a close.

Mike Gibbons, chief executive of the Richard Rose Federation, said these job losses symbolised the “final piece in the jigsaw” in ensuring the academies face a debt-free future.

It is hoped the federation’s books will balance by July 2013.

“The consultation is drawing to a close and the final document will be issued and sent out to people at the beginning of next week,” he added.

“We will start working with people on what the final document says at the beginning of the summer term.”

Discussing the millions paid to the academies over the 18-month period, Mr Gibbons said: “A lot of that money wasn’t new money for future funding, it was almost entirely to pay for debts arising from the amalgamation.

“It’s been a long and complex business, amalgamating three schools into two – and three schools that were seriously in debt – so there’s been a long process of getting all this right.

“We’ve worked very closely over the last three years with the Government to bring the new academies into a table situation and we know that’s on the verge of being achieved.

“This is the last piece of the jigsaw and now we can look to the future to reap the benefits,” added Mr Gibbons, who praised the staff for the “dignity with which they have faced the situation”.

And he insisted that every effort had been made to ensure pupils were unaffected by either the debt situation or the impending job losses.

In fact, since the academies opened, pupils’ grades had improved – something Mr Gibbons insists can only continue.

He said: “This is planting very deep foundations for a very exciting and sustainable future at both academies.

“We can only continue to get better.”

Richard Rose Central Academy headteacher Russ Wallace will retire at the end of the school year. Co-head Jacky Kennedy will take over in September.

First published at 14:11, Friday, 30 March 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk