Academy
A state-funded school run independently of the local authority, often as part of a Multi-Academy Trust.
An academy is a state-funded school that operates outside local authority control. Academies receive their funding directly from the Department for Education and have more freedom over the curriculum, school day, term dates and teacher pay than community schools.
Most academies sit inside a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), which runs several schools under one charitable structure. Roughly 80% of secondary schools and over 40% of primaries in England are now academies.
Academies are still free to attend, follow safeguarding rules, and are inspected by Ofsted. The main practical difference for parents is that the academy itself (or the trust) is the admissions authority, not the local council - which means appeals and admissions queries go direct to the school.
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More terms starting with A
Admissions Authority
The body responsible for setting and applying a school admissions policy (the local authority for community schools, the school itself for academies and faith schools).
Appeals
The legal process through which parents can challenge a refused school place at an independent appeals panel.
Attainment 8
Average grade across 8 GCSE subjects including English and Maths, scored out of 90.