Can academies stop riots?
It's one of life's bitter ironies that the biggest fire during last year's London riots was the depot of Carpetright in Tottenham, considering its owner, Lord Harris, is one of the biggest supporters of youth academies in inner city London. His Harris Federation runs 13 academies in London, with five more planned to be built by September 2013 and an overall target of 25 primary and secondary academies in London.
It's been hailed as the poster-child for Michael Gove's education reform, with the data suggesting the Federation has successfully turned around the schools it's taken over, in some of the most gang-ridden neighbourhoods in London (Peckham in particular is the site of some of the worst gang fighting in the capital).
However, that position as poster child for reform of the comprehensive school system has also attracted criticism - just today, there is a sit-down protest in a Carpetright store from parents and teachers protesting against what they say is the Department of Education's ideological commitment to impose a free school on their community, whether they want it or not. More on that story here.
Education reform in the UK is, quite literally, a burning issue.
Here's a question: has there been any analysis of which schools the convicted rioters went to?