New Christian academy
A North East businessman, former Sunderland FC chairman Bob Murray, has submitted plans for a Christian academy in County Durham. The plans are for a privately funded school in Consett, the town where Mr Murray used to live. He hopes to develop the Consett academy by September 2011.
The school, which would cater for pupils aged 11-18, is being supported by the Emmanuel Schools Foundation which currently operates two schools in the region. The foundation already runs Emmanuel College in Gateshead and The King’s School in Middlesbrough, and recently won planning permission for an academy in Blyth, Northumberland.
In recent years the Emmanuel School Foundation, backed by Sir Peter Vardy, has attracted controversy for its Christian ethos and for teaching Creationism.
