The chief executive of the academy chain that has turned around the fortunes of two troubled Carlisle schools has praised the businessman who called on him for help.

And he has revealed how an unexpected meeting after he was sent to replace then Education Secretary Ed Balls on official business in Cumbria created a connection that forged a new future.

Jon Coles says Brian Scowcroft showed "courage" to ask for support when he realised the two schools bearing the names of his late son and middle name of his granddaughter continued to struggle from their troubled beginnings in 2008.

"Ed Balls was secretary of state," said Mr Coles.

"He was due to come up for Central Academy's topping out ceremony. Something happened in Parliament which meant he couldn't make it. At the time I was director of schools at the department.

"Ed asked if I would go up. I felt it had its problems so I wanted to go. I met Brian Scowcroft there."

That was in February 2010 and less than two years later Mr Coles was chief executive at United Learning, then the country's largest academy chain.

Less than four years after that first meeting on the roof of the academy being built in Victoria Place, Mr Scowcroft and Mr Coles were in talks to see how United Learning could help the failing schools.

"We were approached by Brian Scowcroft," said Mr Coles. "He had a real passion for the area and wanted to do something significant.

"It takes real courage to say I want to get involved in something like that and a greater degree of courage to say you need help.

"He approached us and said how important it was for him to get someone to do it and really trust to get it done."

United Learning is known for taking on struggling schools but even Mr Coles admits Carlisle's Central and Morton Academies were its biggest challenges.

Admitting a sense of attachment following the 2010 visit, Mr Coles said: "We felt that here there were young people that deserved really good schools.

"Obviously they had great facilities but educationally and financially they were at the really difficult end of the scale. I'm not going to lie, these two were at the difficult end of difficult."

The Department for Education wrote off a large amount of the academies' debts, hundreds of thousands of pounds Mr Coles said.

"Even when the historical debt was written off they were still running an in-year deficit," he added.

That has now changed. Both academies balance their books and they are schools growing in popularity, attracting increasing numbers of pupils.

Mr Coles has spoken to exclusively to The Cumberland News after leaders of Morton Academy, in Wigton Road, Carlisle revealed last Friday that it is now judged to be a "good" school by Ofsted inspectors.

Delivering the best standards of education in its history, the academy and its predecessor Morton School have both been in special measures at least once before after failing inspections.

Mr Coles has paid tribute to Morton's students, saying they are a "real credit" to their community. He also praised parents for their support after United Learning took over Morton and Central Academies legally in September 2014 and drastic changes were made.

He said: "They were of course cautious. Here was another person who said they were going to make a difference but parents, the community, the young people and staff have all pulled together to make it happen."

Central Academy, once dubbed the worst school in Britain, is also a "good" school having been inspected in June.

"They've both had a bit of support," said Mr Coles, "but what is good to see now is that they're both in a position to help other academies across our group now.

"We're really proud of the two schools and the work they've done. It is a fantastic story and we're already talking about the future. They're improving and they are pretty ambitious about what more they can do now."

United Learning, which runs 60 academies, drafted in Derek Davies as executive principal of the two academies.

Upon his arrival he described them as "broken schools".

But after "difficult early days", he said: "There was a realisation that the solutions were within the schools, not outside.

"There is a lot a multi-academy trust can do in terms of skills, knowledge and guidance but what you have to do is nurture from within too.

"I also always said that we wanted the two schools to be securely good and that there would be no quick fixes."

Mr Davies, now regional director at United Learning, said he focused on developing leadership in the schools.

"It was crucial to get the right heads in place first," he said. "Governors who volunteer and challenge and support the academies have also worked really hard.

"I feel proud that we've been developing leaders, future heads, and I'm really sad that Des Bird is moving on [from Morton to Workington Academy next Easter] but I'm not thinking that we're going back to square one. We have built that leadership at all levels.

"We're securely good and my next thing is how we get to great. There are still things we need to improve on and get right."

One of the changes he is most proud of is that with the academies' students.

"Students wouldn't keep eye contact with you," he said. "But now there's a sense of pride about the academies and they're successful."

A key breakthrough signalling a turning point for the two academies was when they both saw more than 40 per cent of students achieving a good crop of GCSE grades, emerging from below Government floor standards.

Progress scores - the new accountability measure for how well secondary schools are performing and impacting on children's education - are also positive at both academies, putting them among the top third of schools in Cumbria.

They had previously languished at the bottom of league tables.

Reflecting on the past, Mr Davies has made a pledge.

"There is no way while I'm working for United Learning that I would let anything like that happen again."

The Richard Rose Academies are two of Cumbria's four original academy schools which opened in September 2008.

All are sponsored academies, a form of schooling introduced by the Labour government with the aim of turning around failing schools.

Over the last four months the Richard Rose schools along with West Lakes Academy in Egremont and Furness Academy in Barrow have been judged to be good or outstanding by Ofsted.