Academies sponsor Rod Aldridge has expressed his ‘shock' at the social problems faced by the communities where he is supporting new schools. The former Capita chairman, now head of the Aldridge Foundation, has sponsored two academies, in Darwen near Blackburn and in Brighton where he was born. But writing in local government weekly The MJ this week he says: ‘I have been shocked at the social issues that both communities face. It gravely concerns me that in the community Falmer Academy [Brighton]) will serve, 35% of the adult population have no formal qualifications and only 26% of students achieve A to C grades in English or Maths GCSE.' He adds: ‘We need to listen to young people and empower them to take control of their own futures.'
