International
Socialist
Resistance

MEDIA RELEASE 13/8/2002

Reed: “Buying permission to interfere”?

A group of protestors today peacefully occupied Reed Recruitment Agency to highlight the dangers presented by the privatisation of education, in particular the creation of a privatised ‘City Academy’ in Leicester.

At around 12pm today 16 people, members of International Socialist Resistance along with friends and supporters from the local community assembled outside Reed Recruitment Agency in Leicester’s market square. Carrying banners with the slogans ‘Keep Fatcats out of education’ and ‘Reed: “Buying permission to interfere”’ several people entered the premises and refused to leave. While others handed out leaflets to the crowds outside, Reed’s window was decorated with banners and ‘spoof’ job vacancies – ‘School Governor wanted: no previous experience necessary, must have lots of wonga, call inside and ask for Tony’.

Staff repeatedly requested the protestors to leave but as one person said “Alec Reed decided to interfere with education so we’ll interfere with his business”.

At this point the police were called and an officer promptly attended the scene. After negotiations with protestors and staff the demo was moved to the pavement outside where a brief rally was held and more material distributed and signatures collected for a petition.

This action was an attempt to raise awareness as to the kind of people who could become the owner of Leicester’s new “City Academy”. Alec Reed, owner of Reed Executive and Labour Party donor, already owns one school in London and with many millions of pounds to invest (his fortune is suspected to be in the region of 50 million pounds) he is a strong candidate.
Alec Reed has said in the past that the present school curriculum should be ‘torn up and thrown away’ and that his investment ‘buys him permission to interfere’.
Alec Reed is a pioneer of the violently capitalistic school of thought known as ‘Peoplism’ and believes that free enterprise should be taught to children of all ages. If he became the owner of Leicester’s city academy this belief could be realised and local children’s education effected.

James Scott, a spokesperson for the Leicester branch of International Socialist Resistance said “We recognise the need for children to receive a high standard of education and encourage the creation of new schools to achieve this. However we do not believe that individuals with huge amounts of money to invest should be handed control of these schools for them to use as they see fit. Instead we need fully publicly funded, comprehensive schools under democratic local control.”


Background information:
The proposal to create a “City Academy” on the site of the former Mary Linwood school has left many people wondering who will provide the private funding and what implications this will have for the children of Leicester and the standard of education they will receive. As part of the Labour Government’s new privatisation policy 10% of funding required to establish a new school comes from the private sector. Even though the remaining 90%, along with the running costs, is fronted by the taxpayer the private backer is considered the owner and is handed control of the whole school. With “City Academies” being exempt from the national curriculum this gives the owner free reign over what children can be taught.

International Socialist Resistance is a radical youth group working within the anti-capitalist movement. Campaigning locally and nation-wide on issues such as racism, free education, privatisation and the current war on terror ISR are highlighting the damaging effects capitalism is having on the world and offering an active resistance to it while attempting to create a valid alternative to it.

Contact information:
e-mail:  leicesterisr@yahoo.co.uk