EXCLUSIVE: Top schools tempted by 'freedoms' of academy status

Three outstanding primary schools have told the Yorkshire Post they have made official inquiries about opting out of local council control to be run as independent state schools.

One of Yorkshire's best performing comprehensives, St Aidan's Church of England High School in Harrogate, is also considering the move.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has said all schools rated as outstanding by Ofsted can now be fast-tracked to academy status as he opened up the programme up to primary and special schools.

Academies are funded directly from Government and set their own admissions as well as timetable and employment arrangements.

Copthorne Primary in Bradford and Scout Road Primary in Mytholmroyd are among the first schools in the region to declare their interest.

Dame Naila Zaffar, Copthorne's headteacher, said it would mean her school could improve the way it served its community.

St Aidan's head teacher Dennis Richards said: "It would strip away a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy. There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come and I think Michael Gove has realised the day of the quangos, the day of the consultants, the day of the advisers and the day of ticking boxes for the sake of it has gone."