School one of first to try for fast-track to academy status

Education Secretary Michael Gove has said academies – which are state-funded but run independently of local councils – could become "the norm" in the country's schools system.

There are currently 22 across Yorkshire but a bill introduced in Parliament aims to allow all schools – primary or secondary – with an outstanding rating from Ofsted to join the programme automatically. This could mean another 286 academies in Yorkshire this year.

Every school in the country will be invited to apply to join the programme.

Academies are funded directly from Government and can set their own curriculum, timetable and admissions arrangements.

Tollbar Business Enterprise and Humanities College, in Grimsby, became the first outstanding school in the region to confirm its intention to become an academy.

The secondary school's principal and chief executive David Hampson said: "I and my governing body firmly believe that Tollbar Business Enterprise and Humanities College should have this freedom to use its outstanding expertise to be self- determining over the key issues in educational advancement for all students, the curriculum, staffing and having total financial control."

The Education Secretary said he anticipated a high take-up of the opportunity and Mr Gove has written to every primary, secondary and special school in the country inviting them to bid to join the programme

Those rated outstanding by Ofsted – around 600 secondaries and about 2,000 primaries nationally – have been pre-approved, meaning those that apply now will be able to reopen as academies in September.