THE changing face England’s education system has arrived in Kendal as both of the town’s secondaries started their first week as Academy schools.

Governors at Queen Katherine School on Appleby Road and Kirkbie Kendal School, Lound Road, voted to change their school status’ from April 1.

Just a week into the change, which is designed to give high performing schools more freedom from the local authority, both head teachers have spoken of their delight at the opportunities now available to them.

Kirkbie Kendal School head teacher Phil Hyman said: “I am delighted that our achievements have allowed the school to be recognised in this way. We are looking forward to the extra responsibilities and the increased funding Academy status will bring.”

He added that the 1000 pupil school’s admission arrangements and its emphasis on care, courtesy and consideration would remain unchanged.

In a letter to the school education secretary Michael Gove wrote: “I am delighted that Kirkbie Kendal School recognises the benefits Academy Status will bring and has chosen to be in the first wave of schools to convert.

"The school will now have the opportunity to use the freedoms and flexibilities of Academy Status to share best practice with others to bring about improvements to all schools in the area.”

Stephen Wilkinson, head teacher of Queen Katherine School, said freedoms over the curriculum would be ‘liberating’ and allow them to tailor learning to meet the specific needs of pupils.

While he noted the historic significance of the new wave of Academies in his personal opinion the school’s decision to make the change was for pragmatic and not philisophical reasons.

“It was a pragmatic decision that needed to be taken in order to maximise the opportunities for QKS but I’m not an Academy evangelist.

"I never imagined that I would one day run a school outside of local authority control but in the context of the South Lakes Federation of Schools where we have got so many schools that are working so closely together, logically it’s the next step.”

The schools join Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale which became an academy on December 1.