Parent Paul Levy with Pooles Park former head Greg Crawford outside the Royal Courts of Justice

ISLINGTON Council is investigating the possibility of a legal appeal after the High Court ruled one of its primaries could be turned into an academy.

It has been working to close Pooles Park in Finsbury Park and battling a decision made by the previous education secretary Gillian Keegan’s office to allow it stay open with an outside sponsor taking over.

The closure plan for Pooles Park came amid a fall in school pupil numbers across the borough and an “inadequate” rating from Ofsted inspectors.

Islington is hoping to continue its attempts to see it shut down by bringing an appeal hearing next month, but parents say this leaves them and their children in a “no man’s land”.

Paul Levy, who has been campaigning for almost 18 months to save his child’s school, told the Tribune: “If they [Islington Council] get granted permission to appeal then we’re back to square one. Parents still have no idea whether the school will be viable in September.”

The council has previously accused the government of “riding rough­shod” over their school strategies, and said that the court’s ruling to support the decision to academise the school harms its ability to meet its statutory obligations.

Mr Levy said: “This legal argument is an argument that does not need to involve our school. You can take a point of law to court to be considered without litigating against us. You are putting our school in a no man’s land, where we don’t know what’s going on, it’s cruel.”

Pupils celebrate news the school is staying open

Islington’s education bosses decided that Pooles Park should close following an Ofsted report in 2022 that rated it as “inadequate”. The council claim that some schools in the borough must close as pupil numbers drop, and argue that it is only fair that the poorest performing are the first to shut their doors.

Following protests from parents, the decision to close Pooles Park was then overruled by Ms Keegan’s office, who granted the school an academy licence. The Bridge Multi Academy Trust (MAT) is set to take over the school.

Mr Levy has accused the council of being “condescending” and “arrogant” in its dealings with parents throughout the dispute over the future of the school.

He told the Tribune: “I’ve attended every single meeting with the council.

“My characterisation of the local authority is twofold: they are condescending in the sense that they refuse to communicate with us in terms of legal proceedings, perhaps thinking we wouldn’t understand, and simultaneously they are arrogant in that they think that they’re above it.

“Like a lot of big organisations, they start out with civic values, but before long they become bitter, twisted and entrenched.”

Islington’s lead education councillor, Michelline Safi-Ngongo, said: “We believe closing Pooles Park and relocating pupils sensitively to nearby schools would be in the best interest of its children, families, and the wider community.

“We can assure parents that the school will open in September 2024, regardless of the appeal.

“The Department for Education’s decision forced us to close a high-performing school nearby so Pooles Park, rated ‘inadequate’, could become an academy.

“In the context of significant falling pupil numbers – a trend seen across London – we believe closing Pooles Park would have improved the financial stability of nearby schools, boosting the educational experience for all pupils in the area.”

She added: “Keeping it open under an academy trust will increase financial strain on our remaining schools, hindering our ability to improve education quality for Islington’s youth.”