At the moment there appears to be pressure for every school to become an academy and we are told that academies and free schools are in fact independent schools (they are actually state-funded and they are still accountable to central government).
Independent schools operate in a mostly different sphere and are subject to few government controls, other than the rather draconian Independent School Standards Regulations (ISSRs).
It is true that a few independent fee-paying schools have become state-funded academies. However, I was surprised to hear on a Radio 4 programme that “many” independent schools were becoming academies because the economic crisis was affecting parents’ ability to pay fees. The broadcaster said that seven independents had become academies (a very small percentage of the around 1,500 in the country).
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