Academy schools reach landmark

10 May 2011

 

Following on from my earlier post www.mikebakereducation.co.uk/blog/381/tipping-point-for-academies-and-the-whole-school-system, it's interesting to see the latest announcement from the Department for Education today that more than 1000 schools have now applied to become academies. 240 schools have applied in the last month alone.

 

So the latest position is:   

  • 1070 schools have applied to be an academy since June 2010
  • 647 of these applications have been approved
  • 384 have already converted
  •  a third of all secondary schools are either now academies, or in the process of becoming   an academy
  • schools are becoming academies at a rate of two every school day.

 

The total number of open academies, including those opened under the previous government, now stands at 658.

 

Outstanding schools were invited to apply for academy status from June 2010. This offer has since been extended to special schools and any other school that is performing well.

 

The change of attitude towards academy conversion from the Church of England and the Catholic Church now certainly looks like a tipping point bearing in mind the very large number of voluntary-aided church schools, particularly in the primary sector. 

 

Post a comment

After posting your comment you will need to confirm it by checking your email and clicking the confirmation that will be sent to you.

Comments will appear once reviewed for appropriate content.