MORE than half of secondary schools in Suffolk are expected to break away from Suffolk County Council and become academies by the end of the year, it has emerged.

Several schools have already converted to academy status, which means they are answerable directly to the Department for Education and have greater financial freedom and choice in buying services, such as school dinners and books.

And the council said 17 of the county’s 38 secondary schools will be academies by September, rising to more than 20 by the end of 2011.

While any school can become an academy, most of those who have converted or are considering the move are secondary schools.

There are currently nine confirmed academies overall, and a further 28 schools which are in the process of becoming one.

Headteachers said the move gave governing bodies more power to run schools according to their needs, although the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said it feared creating academies would lead to a two-tier system.

Suffolk County Council top slices about 8% of a school’s funding to deliver its services. Academy schools can spend that money as they see fit.

Hadleigh High School, Farlingaye High School in Woodbridge and Copleston High School in Ipswich have become the latest schools to convert to academy status, which took effect yesterday. Another eight schools will convert on August 1.

Hadleigh headteacher Caroline Gibson said: “We are an outward looking school and view our change of status as a means to further promote innovation as it provides even more freedom to decide how best to meet the needs of our pupils.”

Mike Crawshaw, who oversaw Debenham High School’s move to academy status in January, said he was “delighted” with how it was working.

“We have greater freedom, a reduction in bureaucracy and a much more direct, straightforward aproach,” said the headteacher.

“The governors are the people making the decisions – they have been given the freedom to make the difference.”

He added: “This is not anti-local authority. We are still happy to buy services from the local authority if they are good and at a reasonable cost. They have also been very co-operative and supportive in this process.”

But Graham White, division secretary for Suffolk NUT, said that creating academies was a step towards privatising the education system and could lead to changes in pay and conditions for teachers as academies do not have to abide by national policies.

He also warned it could result in a “two-tier” education system. “Once one school becomes an academy others will follow because they will say that they don’t want to look like the poor relation.

“You will have the academies that will be seen as the ‘good’ schools and the other ones that did not become academies will be seen as ‘poor’ schools. There will be a council house approach for some schools and a private housing approach to others – in my opinion that is entirely wrong.”

Graham Newman, Suffolk County Council’s portfolio holder for schools, said the authority supported schools wishing to become academies and welcomed “diversity of provision of education” in the county.

“We will continue to champion standards and the interests of pupils, including vulnerable children, in all Suffolk schools,” he added.

CONFIRMED ACADEMIES

Forest Primary, Brandon

Samuel Ward, Haverhill

Hartismere High, Eye

Debenham High

Thomas Mills High, Framlingham

Ipswich Academy (formerly Holywells High)

Hadleigh High

Farlingaye High, Woodbridge

Copleston High, Ipswich

DUE TO CONVERT

County Upper, Bury St Edmunds in a chain with Horringer Court Middle and Westley Middle

Kesgrave High

East Bergholt High

Holbrook High

Priory School, Bury

Thomas Wolsey, Ipswich

Sir John Leman High, Beccles

Bungay High

Needham Market in a chain with Stow Middle and Combs Middle

The Ashley School, Lowestoft

Kirkley High, Lowestoft

Orwell and Deben, Felixstowe

Thurleston High, Ipswich

Chantry High, Ipswich

NEW APPLICANTS

Castle Manor Business and Enterprise College, Haverhill, in a chain with Place Farm Primary and Burton End Primary

Mellis Primary

Denes High, Lowestoft

St Mary’s Primary, Mildenhall

St Albans High, Ipswich

Stradbroke Business and Enterprise College

Worlingworth Primary