I watched in sadness at the county council meeting when the Conservative administration passed the resolution to abandon Oxford Community School and set up an academy and place it in the hands of a management group based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Their justification was that along with other academies they had set up, this was a failing school that they were glad to be rid of.

These were schools that undermined their position in the national league tables of exam results.

There was not one word acknowledging the fact that for many many years these schools have been grossly underfunded.

The Tories on the county council were never any good at redistributing what money they had to help schools in more disadvantaged areas and they were never going to admit that many problems came directly from their neglect.

They seem to acknowledge that there is now mounting academic evidence that even though large amounts of capital spending (a bribe) had been given by the previous Labour government to schools that would convert to academies, their record of improving educational standards was very poor.

The Tories did not listen to the point made by Green councillor Larry Sanders that this move was overwhelmingly opposed by parents or that this management company would separate the school from the community.

They knew that the only tangible thing that has emerged after eight years of academies was that the headteachers and the managers all had substantial pay rises.

Oh, was the line, who cares, as long as somebody else is responsible, not us.

It was upsetting to see them washing their hands, a degree of sadness only matched by watching Labour councillors, until three months ago the greatest advocates of academies (their idea), now telling people they were against this step to privatisation all along.

David Williams, Green Party city councillor for Iffley Fields