Over the past few years we have seen more and more schools opening up as academies. You may be wondering what an academy school is and how it differs from a community school. An academy school is not funded by a local council, instead it is financed by the government. They do not have to follow the usually national curriculum and can set their own term times although they still have to adhere to some regulations such as exclusions policies.
Some school academies have sponsors from local businesses or schools for example, and it is these people who are responsible for the improvements within an academy.
Recent GCSE results have shown that the amount of schools failing the expected level has doubled over the past year from 154 to 300 in 2015. This could mean that the government close some of these schools or force them to become academies instead.