Three Shropshire schools apply to become academies

Three schools in Telford & Wrekin have applied to convert to academy status which will see them opt out of local authority control.

Newport Girls High - one of the top performing schools in the country - along with Priorslee Primary and St Matthew's CE Aided Primary (Donnington) have had Orders signed by the Department of Education which means they are on track to convert over the coming months.

The Government believes academies will help drive up classroom standards but so far there have been no other applications from the rest of Shropshire.

However, earlier this summer the county's biggest comprehensive, the Marches School and Technology College at Oswestry, registered an "interest" in becoming an academy as did two secondaries classed as "outstanding" by Ofsted - The Priory at Shrewsbury and Thomas Adams at Wem.

In total, 13 schools from across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin registered their interest.

Academies, which are directly funded by the Government, can be set up and managed by sponsors from a wide range of backgrounds, including other high performing schools and colleges, universities, businesses, the voluntary sector, and the faith communities.

The decision on whether to apply for academy status rests with a school's governing body. Education Secretary Michael Gove wrote to all schools in England in May inviting them to apply and the coalition Government moved swiftly to pass a new Bill to allowing them to take up the offer.

The speed at which the legislation moved through Parliament led to accusations that ministers rushed the reforms using a timetable usually reserved for emergency laws, such as anti-terror legislation

But yesterday, six weeks after the legislation became law, only 32 schools had completed the process to open as academies this month, with 142 in total expected to convert over the coming academic year.

Mr Gove said: "This Government believes that teachers and head teachers, not politicians and bureaucrats, should control schools and have more power over how they are run."

By Education Correspondent Dave Morris