Dear "Concerned Parents",

Below you will find an article published on Times in 2005. It seems that this is not the first time GEMS is facing angry parents because of class size increases.

We need to put pressure on them in a structured and organized way and it has to media driven.

Please come up with suggestions on how to channel the info between the 200 different families and how to take decisions - Thanks

From The Times
May 25, 2005

Private school parents in revolt
Sunny Varkey promised top quality schools at bargain basement prices, but after four head teachers in a year his first venture has hit troubled waters
By Alexandra Blair, Education Correspondent
THE company that promised to introduce “no frills” private education to England is facing a revolt from parents at the first school that it took over.
Parents of pupils at Bury Lawn school in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, passed a vote of no confidence in Global Enterprise Management Systems (Gems) after the departure of four headteachers within a year.
Hundreds of parents complaining of an “atmosphere of fear” and a collapse in morale will present Gems today with an ultimatum to hand control of Bury Lawn back to the headteacher and demand that they have a say in hiring staff.
Before the action plan had even been submitted, however, parents had received a letter from the company’s lawyers warning them that a meeting on school grounds “without consent is totally irresponsible and will not be tolerated”.
Gems promises “no frills” private education at low prices and with 13 schools is the second largest provider of independent education in the country. Sunny Varkey, the Indian-born chairman, who runs the schools “for profit”, said he aimed to manage 200 schools and has been in talks about investing in two city academies.
Related Links
Education: Independent schools must ignore the government, not parents
Private companies urged to compete with state schools
More choose private education as parents lose faith in state schools
Parents were reassured of Gems “gold standard” with high-profile advisers, such as Sir Gareth Roberts, an education adviser to Tony Blair, Sir Mike Tomlinson, the former chief inspector of schools and Sir Michael Bichard, who led the Soham inquiry.
Gems schools are day-schools and claim to provide a service like an airline, from “no frills” economy to business class. But with fees of around £6,000 for 5-year-olds at Bury Lawn to just under £10,000 a year at “premium schools” such as Sherfield, they can cost much the same as more prestigious institutions.
Parents say that with 500 pupils from nursery to 18, Bury Lawn was the model school — small, with a family ethos that nurtured its children. But within months of Gems taking over, class sizes had grown from 18 to 24 and they became concerned.
“Bury Lawn school was different, a caring school where each child was treated as an individual. But since July that’s changed, now it’s being run more as a business,” Sue Plummer, mother of Christopher, 14, said. She said her son had grown into a bright outgoing boy, but she claimed that his progress had been hampered after four headteachers and more than a dozen senior staff left in the past year. For the parents the tipping-point came last week, when Mark Olejnik, deputy head for 15 years, was dismissed to be replaced by the fifth head, Dr Sheila Kaye. With a week’s tuition to go, A2 level history students broke down in tears.
Ms Plummer, 43, is now considering removing her son. She said: “We are paying for a service we’re no longer getting. We were told classes would be 15-18 and yet Gems is trying to force 24 into the rooms.” She went on to claim that some children did not have desks or chairs and sometimes had to stand during lessons. Other parents are also considering removing their children. Phil Martin, 32, has three daughters at the school and moved to Milton Keynes because of Bury Lawn.
He alleged that there was an “atmosphere of fear” in the school and, like others, was concerned that the profits were being ploughed into the company and not back into the school.
“Gems is very quick to say they’ve invested £2 million into a new sports hall but now there’s not even enough money to buy a new Hoover,” he said.
Dr Kaye, who has been head for just a week, promised yesterday to meet parents and hear their allegations. No one was available at Gems to comment.
At his suite in the Dorchester hotel, Sunny Varkey told The Times in February, however, that his schools could deliver a good education cheaply by maximising economies of scale.
With 55,000 students and 4,900 staff in 120 countries, he said he was well placed to transfer best practice and dismissed concerns about class sizes. He said: “If a parent has 24 children in a class, he says it’s too much. But we charge less than £5,000. If he really wants 18 or 20 in a class he should send them to Eton for £25,000.”
The Independent Schools Association confirmed that the Independent Schools Inspectorate would investigate “governing and management issues” at the school.