The initial enthusiasm for schools to convert to academy status has waned considerably. It may take decades for Michael Gove’s vision to be fully realised

Introduced by the Labour government in 2002, the campaign to convert schools to Academy status has been taken up with considerable gusto by the Education Secretary, Michael Gove. Using data provided by the Department for Education, John Fowler finds that while there were considerable applications for conversion to Academy status in the spring, the number of applications have now dropped significantly. It may take decades before all schools achieve Academy status.