'Poorest borough' rejects £2m for academy

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Tower Hamlets told US investment bank Goldman Sachs it did not want the money to build and run a state school as the area's results were getting better without the academies.

The Labour-controlled borough said it offered "schools that parents want" - even though its GCSE results are below the national average. The move was a stinging rebuff to Goldmans, which had hoped the school would be its first major exercise in philanthropy in Britain.

The bank, famous for the huge bonuses it pays staff, has a tradition of public works in America which it wanted to extend to Britain. The plan had the support of Goldman's chief economist Jim O'Neill, but a spokesman said: "We haven't got a comment at this point." Opponents of academies will be delighted by Tower Hamlets' defiance, while supporters will fear the borough's stance shows up the limitations of the multi-billion pound project - that councils can block academies in their areas.

Tony Blair and London schools minister Lord Adonis want at least 60 academies to be built in London by the end of the decade - and possibly double that number in future years - as part of their plan for at least 400 of the semi-independent state schools in England.

Tower Hamlets' GCSE results are below the national average, despite the claim by Kevin Collins, borough director of children's services, that standards are rising at an adequate rate.

Last year, 34 per cent of the borough's pupils scored five A* to Cs, including English and maths, compared with the national average of 45.8 per cent.

While some of its schools have had good reports from education watchdog Ofsted, none of Tower Hamlets's comprehensives managed to ensure that 50 per cent or more of their pupils achieved at least five Cs at GCSE last year.

The borough is the most deprived in London according to government statistics.