Four Island schools are among the 1,567 schools which have expressed an interest in becoming an academy in a list released by the government.
Academy status puts schools out of local authority control.
They are Binstead Primary, which was rated Outstanding in its most recent Ofsted; Chale Primary, the smallest primary on the island, which is due to close next month as a result of the schools reorganisation; Nine Acres Primary in Newport; and St Catherine’s School in Ventnor, a special school for children with speech and communication difficulties.
Two academies already planned
Sandown and Ryde High schools are already due to close and reopen as academies for pupils aged 11-19 when they become secondary schools in September 2011, under the existing school reorganisation plans drawn up by Isle of Wight Council.
For more information and the full list of schools in England expressing interest in academy status so far, see this BBC article.
