ONE of Blackburn’s top schools has been given green light to become an academy.

St Wilfrid’s CofE High School and Technology College has been granted permission from the Department for Education to free itself from local authority control.

The Duckworth Street school could soon be joined by Belthorn Primary School which has also submitted an application.

The primary school declined to comment at this time, but bosses at St Wilfrid’s said they were now working on a conversion agreement to decide the status of the school.

But, after hearing that St Wilfrid’s application had been successful, unions said they would be recommending a ballot for strike action over the move.

In a joint statement, headteacher David Whyte and acting chair of governors Alan Inglis, said: “We have received confirmation that the school has met the DfE conditions to covert to an academy.

“The academy order was signed by the Secretary of State and received in school Tuesday.

“Our solicitors are now in the process of providing the documentation required to inform the detail of the conversion agreement.

“On receipt of the conversion agreement the Governors will make their decision about the school’s future status.”

Academy status frees schools from local authority control, allows them to take charge of admissions and set their own own curriculum.

The government says the scheme will allow decisions to be made for pupils, not politicians and bureaucrats.

But NUT national executive and Blackburn with Darwen representative Simon Jones said they would be opposing the move.

He said: “Academies are part of the Government agenda to get as many schools to convert as part of its overall drive to break and privatise the education system in the same way they are doing with the health service.

“We are still committed to opposing the academy and we will be meeting with members next week.

“We will be recommending a ballot for strike action and I would urge the NASUWT and ATL to take the same robust vigilant approach.”