NINE of Hounslow’s 14 secondary schools have now either been awarded or applied for academy status.
St Mark’s Catholic School, in Bath Road, Hounslow, and Gumley House Convent School, in St John’s Road, Isleworth, this month became the latest schools to submit applications.
Lampton School, Rivers Academy (formerly Longford Community School), Cranford Community College and Feltham Community College are all academies.
Chiswick Community School and Heston Community School are both awaiting approval, while Isleworth and Syon School’s application has been approved subject to a funding agreement being reached.
Academy schools are independent from council control, giving them greater freedom when it comes to setting term times and delivering the curriculum, among other matters. There are already 1,529 academies in England, with many more applications waiting to be approved.
Cranford Community College last April became the second school in Hounslow, after Lampton School, to convert to academy status.
Headteacher Kevin Prunty said the move had already enabled it to make a number of significant improvements. For us it’s been quite a smooth and positive experience,” he told the Chronicle. “There’s a financial advantage and we’ve been able to use that money to enrich the curriculum. We’ve also been able to reduce the level of bureaucracy, allowing us to devote more energy and time to improving standards.”
Since becoming an academy, Cranford has already introduced smaller group sizes for maths, increased term times by 10 days to help struggling and high-achieving students and created a literacy and numeracy centre.
However, Mr Prunty said it still worked closely with the council and other schools and was looking to expand to meet the growing demand for places.
He added that it was too early to judge the impact in terms of exam results but believed there would be a noticeable improvement within the next two to three years.
St Mark’s has submitted an application for academy status but, according to the school’s website, governors will consider all issues ‘very carefully’ before making a final decision.
Gumley House, meanwhile, made the decision to apply after consulting with parents and staff.
The move is in the school’s ‘best interests’, according to its website, which claims pupils, parents and staff will not notice any change in the day-to-day running.
The Heathland School, in Wellington Road South, Hounslow, is one of just five secondary schools across the borough yet to apply for academy status.
Headteacher Harinder Pattar said the issue was still up for discussion but the benefits remained unclear.
“It’s such an important long-term decision we would like to really move cautiously,” he told the Chronicle. “In our view we already have enough freedom with the curriculum and although there is a financial benefit you would have to buy in certain services (previously provided by the council) so it’s not clear how much the school would gain.”
