Figures released by the Department for Education reveal that more than 1000 schools have now applied to become academies and 240 schools have applied in the last month alone. The total number of open academies now stands at 658. See our map of academy schools in your area.

Academy schools are privately run, publicly funded schools within the state sector. Since the coalition government came to power just over a year ago the number of academy schools in England has tripled. Only schools judged by OFSTED as ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good with Outstanding features’ have been allowed to apply to convert in their own right. Other schools have had to apply as part of wider chains, working with strong schools. 

However the government is now inviting more to apply for the semi-independent status. The coalition wants all schools to have the chance to become academies, including primary and special schools and is opening the programme up to even more schools from this month. Education Secretary, Michael Gove has written to all schools in England inviting them to become academies. He said "I believe that head teachers and teachers know best how to run schools. Not local bureaucrats or politicians. That's why last week I wrote to every school in the country inviting them to take up academy freedoms if they wished to do so. The response has been overwhelming".

Although the academies programme has not been popular with the teaching unions; they are concerned that it will create competition between schools and provide less local accountability. Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "It is irresponsible for the government to be prioritising an expensive academy programme at a time when essential local authority services to schools - such as specialist SEN support, speech and language therapy, education psychologists - are being cut.”

Despite this criticism, support for academy schools is growing. A recent report from the London School of Economics has found that academies are working: “results suggest that moving to a more autonomous school structure through academy conversion generates a significant improvement in the quality of pupil intake, a significant improvement in pupil performance and small significant improvements in the performance of pupils enrolled in neighbouring schools.”

Mr Gove said, “A third of secondary schools are now either an academy or have started on the road to conversion. This represents a fundamental shift in power away from government and towards teachers. Teachers, not politicians or bureaucrats, know best how to run schools.

Schools want the freedom to decide what is best for their pupils. They want to be free to innovate in the classroom, inspiring pupils to learn. Academy status gives them that freedom and is the reason why even more schools will follow these pioneers in the following months and years.”

The Department for Education has provided a map illustrating exactly where you can find an academy school in your area.