Indeed, but provided they don't all start turning into academies as I don't think this will benefit the community as a whole. It may mean that they benefit their self selected student base but thats not entirely wonderful if your child has special support needs or has been turned down for entry in the first place. Its no secret that Fairlawn has expressed interest in the academy process and is keen to move away from local authority control. I personally don't see anything wrong with local authority control or the national curriculum and would prefer to maintain this level of accountability rather than the alternative. Schools should be accountable to the community not make their decisions on some arbitrarily agreed standards.