Council boss hits back at Eton Star criticism

Oldham’s town hall boss has hit back after an education expert critiqued a plan to bring an Eton-backed school to Oldham town centre.

The Eton Star Academy is poised to take over the former Tommyfield Outdoor Market site once traders have moved to their new location on George Square later this year. The new sixth form will be backed by a £1m booster from the elite boarding school in Berkshire and due to be managed by the Star Academies Trust. 

Its aim is to support ‘talented, underprivileged pupils’ from Oldham and the surrounding areas into the world’s top universities. The intake will be approximately 400 students, with an emphasis on kids in care, those on free school meals, and youngsters who would be the first person in their family to attend university, according to Eton College headteacher Simon Henderson. 

But the plans, which were delayed by a government review into the school’s ‘value for money’, have recurrently come under fire. A local education expert raised concerns about the impact on existing schools in Oldham, many of which have an excellent achievement record, or are known for supporting students to achieve much higher grades than initially predicted. 

Dominic Wall, Chair of the Trustees at Pinnacle Learning Trust, which runs Hathershaw College and Oldham Sixth Form, recently argued the plans ‘don’t stack up’ and accused the school of trying to ‘skim off the very talented from disadvantaged areas’. 

Now Oldham boss coun Arooj Shah has hit back at the critique, stating that the Eton Star project is ‘an opportunity Oldham cannot afford to miss’. 

Cllr Shah said: “I grew up in a community where talent was everywhere, but opportunity wasn’t. I’ve seen what it feels like to work hard, dream big, and still wonder whether the world will open its doors for you. That experience has shaped who I am – and it’s why I believe so deeply in what Eton Star Oldham can do for our young people.   

“For too long, Oldham’s children – bright, determined, full of potential – have not had the same chances as students in other parts of the country. That has never been because they lacked ability. It’s because the system around them has not given them enough.

“Leading colleges see up to 44per cent of students going on to top third universities, nationally, it’s 19pc, yet from the largest college in Oldham, it’s just 14pc. And it’s not about demographics or geography because in our neighbouring borough, Rochdale, it’s 22pc.  

“Eton Star Oldham offers something our town has needed for a long time: a bold intervention that raises expectations, raises attainment, and raises belief. 

“I’ve seen what happens when a community gets that chance. In Newham, the London Academy of Excellence, built through a partnership with leading independent schools including Eton, changed lives. In one of the most deprived areas in the country, 73pc of students achieve A/A* and 96pc achieve As or Bs.  

“I know that not every child wants to follow the academic pathway of A-levels through to university, but for those young people in Oldham who do want that, I want to deliver the best opportunities for them to achieve their potential.  

“I know that the Eton and Star Academies partnership for Oldham can help provide those opportunities. Bringing that level of academic expertise to Oldham doesn’t mean creating exclusivity; it means opening doors that have been closed for too long. 

“If world‑class institutions are prepared to invest in our young people, in our town, and in our future, then I believe we should welcome that with open arms.  Opportunities like this do not come around often. 

“And high‑performing sixth forms don’t sit in isolation. They lift everyone around them. They attract brilliant teachers. They introduce new approaches that spread across the local system. They raise expectations in every school, for every family, in every neighbourhood. 
“From the bottom of my heart, I believe this is a chance our town cannot afford to miss.”

Frank Rothwell OBE, one of the town’s most prominent businessmen and owner of Oldham Athletic, has also come out in support of the project. 

“Eton College coming to Oldham is a game changer for our town,” Rotherwell said. “We will have the words Eton College and Oldham in the same sentence, and this will change the perception of Oldham to outsiders, which will, in turn, bring increased outside investment and jobs. It’s a game changer for our town, a once in a lifetime opportunity for a generation of Oldham children to change their lives forever.” 

The impassioned defences of the project come in response to a criticism by Wall, who quit his post as a Labour parish councillor in Saddleworth over the college plans. 

Wall criticised the government for approving the project ‘without a clear methodology’ and ‘behind closed doors’, with very little input from existing educational institutions. 

“The truth is, there isn’t a fag paper of difference between Eton and Oldham sixth Form in terms of their performance on the government’s own progress measures,” he said. “If you take all of the sixth form provisions across Oldham, it’s actually better than Eton’s.

“I don’t think it’s been a fair and democratic process because the impact on other providers has not been taken into account. We’re sure about that because [the Department for Education] would have had to ask us, and they didn’t.”

He added there’d been a ‘lack of transparency’ when it came to the planning of the project within the council. 

“The leader of the council Arooj Shah has persistently ignored all concerns raised,” he added. “Including wise voices within her own party advising her that the long-term impact of this project will likely be very negative. It’s been unreasonable and high-handed.”

Other local experts have also raised concerns about the location of the school, which will take up land in the town centre some believe should be used for a wider community or economic benefit. 

But public reception to the plans has been largely positive, with many parents the Local Democracy Reporting Service previously spoke to sharing they felt an ‘aspirational’ addition to the town’s school offering would be beneficial. 

Eton College, Star Academies, and the council recently signed a ‘Heads of Terms’ agreement to take over the former Tommyfield site. While it’s not a done deal just yet, it does take the plans one step closer to putting spades in the ground, with the final contract to be signed off by the council’s legal and executive team.