Twenty-one-year-old Bryony Hursthouse, currently in her final year of chemical engineering and chemistry at Sheffield University, Paul Thompson BSc (Hons) Chem/OES (22), and Isla Pavey (21), who is in her final year of occupational therapy at Canterbury Christ Church University, attended West Sussex County Council's public consultation meeting at Lodsworth last week.

The three former pupils, who all left in 2004, afterwards spoke of their concern about the proposed academy and the lack of public consultation.

In a joint statement to the Observer, they said: "As former students of MGS, we feel that academy status would be detrimental to both the local community and the students' education.

"Any private sector involvement in state education will have a negative impact on the quality of the teaching of secondary level education.

"Being the first rural academy in the country, it is nothing more than an experiment in which local students will be guinea pigs.

"Due to a reduced level of input by the LEA, teachers at the proposed academy will not have to be formally-qualified and this can only lead to poorer academic standards.

"OFSTED inspections are not required until the third year of opening, and even then the academy will not be legally required to act on their findings.

"The creation of the academy in the Rother Valley area will fail to meet the criteria set out by the WSCC as parental preference will be non-existent due to the nearest alternative schools being at least 12 miles away.

"The initial consultation sent out referred only to a two-tier system as opposed to the three-tier system and did not mention the proposed academy, yet seems to be used as an argument for the latter.

"Public opinions such as introducing a two-tier system only, are being cast aside in favour of rushing through the proposal.

"In order to meet government criteria and receive funding for the new academy status, final decisions must be made by May, resulting in rushed consultation and lack of proper investigations into the overall impact on local communities."