A SCHOOL'S plans to break ties with the local education authority and become independent moved a step closer this week after governors at Callington Community College unanimously voted for academy status.

The decision follows months of consultation with parents, teachers. students and local councils.

The college says academy status, which will no longer see the school under local education authority control, is just an extension of what is already happening there — it became a foundation school four years ago.

But the teachers' union NASUWT believes accountability will be lost and said academy schools were not in the interest of school children and the wider community.

Headteacher of Callington Community College Gary Lobbett said academies were accountable but to the Secretary of State rather than Cornwall Council.

As a foundation school, Callington does not have to buy all its services from the local education authority and has its own site team, catering team and health and safety services, but is still maintained by the local authority.

Mr Lobbett said Callington, which had sport and music specialisms, was already 90% down the road of becoming independent and getting academy status would be 'the icing on the cake.'

The Government was currently offering good financial incentives in the first year and Mr Lobbett said he believed there would be benefits relating to the extension of the site.

He said:?'It's all about autonomy really. We have built up a great deal of expertise over the last few years and we are saving a huge amount of money by doing it ourselves but it is also about quality and improving the school.

'Our number of students has increased every year and the exam results go up each year and this is really the next step to build on the success of the school.'

Under the new system the board of governors would take the place of the local education authority as employers and will play more of a key role in admissions. But the school will still have to adhere to national pay and conditions and aims to keep its admission policy, said the head.

He added these were shifting times where power was being taken away from local authorities by the Government through reduced funding: 'This is a huge opportunity for us and it's a question of staying as a foundation school with 90% independency or an academy with 100% of the benefits,' he said.

Only schools which are judged to be satisfactory or better by Ofsted can apply for academy status.

Mr Lobbett said consultations had taken place with students, teachers, parents and the wider community and so far the response had been positive.

The school's application to become an academy has already been approved by the Department for Education.

Teachers' unions have criticised the rapid expansion of the number of academy schools as a threat of the state education system.

South West regional organiser for the NASUWT Fiona Westwood said: 'Foundation schools are still maintained schools within the catchment and family of the local authority. Academies are totally independent schools and we do not think it is appropriate to create independent schools with public money.'

'Headteachers do not own schools and it should not be up to them to do whatever they want with them.'

The college hopes to take up academy status on April 1 this year.