Academy trust “scraps creative subjects mid-course”, at free school which was founded to emphasise creativity

An academy trust, which was handed control of a previously distinctive free school after it failed an Ofsted report, has been scrapping creative qualifications there mid-course, Education Uncovered has learnt.

Reach South, which took over Plymouth School of Creative Arts in March, has pulled out of offering a range of courses offered by the University of Arts London – prompting concerns from parents and a letter from the local Labour MP.

The move comes with families said to be withdrawing their children from the school, as they argue that Reach South is removing the creative focus on which it was founded – concerns seemingly endorsed by local MP Luke Pollard - although this is denied by the trust.

Parents have also complained that they were not consulted about a new uniform including blazers, which again breaks with the former school’s far less formal dress code, and the scrapping of “wrap-around care” at the school.

Reach South, which has taken over the school having secured millions of pounds of government funding, has said it appreciates “some families would like to see the School of Creative Arts continue unchanged,” but this could not happen as many pupils had been “failed”.