by The Editor's Blog, with Bob Bounds
Thursday, April 7 2011
An intriguing, yet worrying, episode has been played out at one of Medway's flagship academies in the last week or two. Since the Bishop of Rochester Academy 'opened its doors' in September there have been concerns about discipline and the continuing concern about the wisdom of merging Medway Community College with Chatham South School. In these days of social media it is increasingly difficult for a school not to wash its dirty laundry in public. Therefore we get to hear quite a bit - like when the police are called to a playground bust-up. It just needs one straightforward story on a website and the issue mushrooms into a debate about the running of the school. We took some of the comments being made about BORA with a slight pinch of salt because after all, which school hasn't been accused of being 'rubbish' with inadequate teachers and a head out of control? It's never the children's fault - or for that matter the parents who are far too quick to criticise rather than praise. But the disquiet about BORA wouldn't go away and our attempts to get to the bottom of the matters were met with a stony silence. Principal (head) Christopher Sweetman was always in meetings and no 'sponsor' (ie governor) was available for a comment. We get wind that Mr Sweetman 'has gone' from a reliable source on Wednesday and then suddenly the council, one of the sponsors, is spurred into action, spiking our exclusive story by releasing a statement. The debate rages on. But the chaotic online discussion aside, this is a school which clearly has big problems. Our job to report fairly and accurately about what is going on is a challenge.
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