[10] The national measure of school performance until 2015 was the proportion of pupils gaining 5 GCSEs A-C grade (including English and Maths).

[15] By 2017 only 4% of students at Sandown Bay Academy were achieving the AAB grades necessary to go to top Russell Group universities (compared to the national average of 17%).

[34] The local authority responded by stating that "...AET should hang their heads in shame and apologise unreservedly for their complete failure to support and develop what should by now have been a good school.

[39] AET's new CEO, Julian Drinkall, effectively blamed the governors for the poor standards at Sandown Bay Academy and said that they would be sacked[40] and replaced with a management board.

[49] However the fact that AET themselves did not seem to want to hand over to another academy chain has been attributed to what Councillor Chris quirk refers to their "being driven by money.

Sandown Bay Academy was declared inadequate, sank into a budget deficit and went through constant rounds of redundancies[55] unable to improve whilst AET threw its top executives and best resources at it.

[23] AET responded by trying to blame the falling numbers at Sandown Bay Academy on an over-supply of school places on the Isle of Wight.

[57] This position was described by the head of education for the Isle of Wight Local Authority as "duplicitous, destructive... (and) illiterate educational vandalism,"[58] because the number of children in the primary schools was increasing, so the Isle of Wight actually needed more secondary school capacity, not the less capacity which AET was claiming.

[59] AET's honesty was further questioned when it was discovered that half the secondary schools in England are actually smaller than Sandown Bay Academy.

"[62] These facts led to the Isle of Wight local authority referring to AET's position that Sandown Bay academy was too small to be financially viable as "tosh and twaddle.

[50] In 2015 Weston Academy went into Special Measures, with collapsing academic standards, and AET's response was to close the school in mid year, forcing parents to find alternative schools at the last minute, whilst AET cited unviable pupil numbers as the reason for the closure.

[70] Councillor Woodhouse, head of education for the Isle of Wight, said that it was shocking that AET could behave with such arrogant disdain and professional discourtesy as to not even communicate with and consult its own Principals and governing bodies about the closure and merger of the schools which they were responsible for.

[71] Newly elected MP Bob Seely went so far as to state that dealing with AET was one of his highest priorities as a new MP and that he was already in contact with government ministers, in order to eradicate AET from the Isle of Wight,[72] a sentiment seconded by Dave Stewart, the leader of the Isle of Wight Council.

[73] In June 2017 AET once again managed to make a public statement of its plans for Sandown Bay Academy, which it had to reverse within 24 hours because it had once again failed to consult with the Principals and staff affected by its decisions.

[86] However, when staff from Sandown Bay Academy passed documents to the local authority which contradicted AET's claims, amidst claims of acting "disingenuously", AET suddenly backed down and reduced the sum which it urgently needed to save to £430,000, which was then further reduced to a need to save £250,000 over two years.

AET's costs include the £950,000 per year (plus pension contributions) which they spend on paying the top 6 AET executives,[45] a commitment to apple Laptops for executives, the Westfield private health scheme, £3m spent "restructuring staff" in 2015 and 2016,[90] the £25,000 claimed by the CEO in expenses (in addition to the £240,000 salary)[91] and the £10m spent on legal fees (£5,116,000 in 2016 and £5,927,000 in 2015) resolving problems in their schools.

[86] Ultimately AET was accused by the Isle of Wight authorities of acting in a high handed "crass" way, treating the island like an annoying pimple on the AET backside,[81] vandalistically trying to close a school which they couldn't improve, "disingenuously" citing dubious financial factors as an excuse to hide their failure and ulterior motives, and in the process levelling the Local Authority with a new, unfunded completely unnecessary and totally unfair £1m a year bill, which would be the cost of bussing all the children to other schools if AET got their way and closed down Sandown Bay Academy.

"[98] According to the "Local Schools Network," AET "choice" is looking hollow and trailblazing is looking more like a scorched earth strategy on the Isle of Wight.

"[59] However, AET should not be underestimated as they have demonstrated one unique ability: creating a "catastrophic breakdown in confidence"[100] of them which united politicians across the entire spectrum of political opinion in the 2017 general election.

[101] The 1973 box office hit That'll Be the Day, starring David Essex, Rosemary Leach and Ringo Starr, was filmed on the Isle of Wight, particularly at Sandown High School, Shanklin beach and in Wroxall.