The Department for Education has discovered that at least six Academy schools are sponsored by companies that are believed to be fronts for organised crime gangs.
Supply teachers and ‘careers advisors’ single out vulnerable students for work experience in illegal gambling, gun running, drug distribution and prostitution. Students who do well are rewarded with doubles who take their exams for them, and may finish school with better qualifications than their peers – on paper at least. Exceptional students may also have their driving tests taken for them, and in some cases get to go on all-expenses-paid school trips to Colombia or Mexico.
‘Our suspicions were aroused by some excellent academic achievements at Academy schools in deprived areas,’ said a spokesman, who wanted to remain anonymous. 'And these schools also had excellent results in getting students into jobs.
‘We had asked our experts were looking for examples of high performing schools, so that they could identify best practice and share it with other schools. Unfortunately, one after another, these experts disappeared and have not been heard of since. We are particularly concerned about one professional who was reviewing some excellent performance in Building and Construction exams. When we tried to track him down, the school told us that there was no concrete evidence that he’d been abducted. and that our fears were ‘without foundation’.
The Department is currently considering whether to close down the schools that are involved, or – given the excellent exam results– to roll out the model more widely.
image from Google Gemini
