ABSTRACT
See: Placing, Assessment and Counselling Teams
Announced in March 2000, the first academies opened in September 2002 under the Learning and Skills Act 2000. Originally called city academies, ‘Academies are all ability schools established by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups working with partners from the local community. Sponsors and the Department for Education and Skills provide the capital costs for the Academy’ (DfES 2002e p. 6). They were either new secondary schools or they replace failing secondary schools. The academies were located in areas of disadvantage, whether urban or rural, and were designed to offer local solutions to local problems. Each academy was different and drew upon the expertise of its sponsors to develop a specific ethos and mission. The age range of pupils varied depending on local provision and the 2002 Education Act allowed for ‘all age’ academies. They were set up as companies limited by guarantee with charitable status and running costs were met in full by the state. Influenced by the Swedish free school system, the Academies Act 2010 enabled the establishment of academies by interested groups and for public funded schools to apply to became academies.
