Editing Academy (section)

===English school types===
====Tertiary education====
{{main|Dissenting academies}}
From the mid-seventeenth to the 19th centuries, educational institutions in England run by [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist]] groups that did not agree with the [[Church of England]] teachings were collectively known as "[[dissenting academies|the dissenting academies]]". As a place at an English public school or university generally required [[conformity]] to the Church of England, these institutions provided an alternative for those with different religious views and formed a significant part of [[education in England|England's educational system]].

[[University College London]] (UCL) was founded in 1826 as the first publicly funded English university to admit anyone regardless of religious adherence; and the [[Test and Corporation Acts]], which had imposed a wide range of restrictions on citizens who were not in conformity to the Church of England, were abolished shortly afterwards, by the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829]].

====Primary and secondary education====
{{main|Academy (English school)}}
In 2000, a form of "independent state schools", called "[[Academy (English school)|academies]]", were introduced in England. They have been compared to US [[charter school]]s.<ref name="smithers">Rebecca Smithers, ''[[The Guardian]]'', July 6, 2005, [http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1522109,00.html "Hedge fund charity plans city academies"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202165655/http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0%2C5500%2C1522109%2C00.html |date=2006-02-02 }}</ref> They are directly funded from central government rather than through local councils, and are partly privately sponsored. Often the sponsors are from business, but some are sponsored by universities and charities. These schools have greater autonomy than schools run by the local councils. They are usually a type of secondary school, but some are "all through" schools with an integral primary school. Some of the early ones were briefly known as "city academies"—the first such school opening on 10 September 2002 at the [[Business Academy Bexley]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2249188.stm|title= Academy opens doors to the future|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040628210928/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2249188.stm|archive-date=28 June 2004|work = BBC News|first = Sean|last = Coughlan |date = 10 September 2002}}</ref>

The Queen's Speech, which followed the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], included proposals for a bill to allow the Secretary of State for Education to approve schools, both Primary and Secondary, that have been graded "outstanding" by [[Ofsted]], to become academies. This was to be through a simplified streamlined process not requiring sponsors to provide capital funding.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Academies Act 2010|url=http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/academieshl.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217031235/http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/academieshl.html|archive-date=17 December 2014|access-date=17 December 2014|website=}}</ref>

In 2012, the UK government began forcing some schools which had been graded satisfactory or lower into becoming academies, unilaterally removing existing governing bodies and head teachers in some cases. An example was Downhills Primary School in Haringey, where the head teacher refused to turn the school into an academy. OFSTED were called in to assess the school, failed it, and both the head and the governing body were removed and replaced with a Government-appointed board despite opposition from the school and parents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17385311|title=BBC News – Academy row school governors sacked by Michael Gove|newspaper=BBC News|date=15 March 2012|access-date=17 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813033727/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17385311|archive-date=13 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/news/9592486.Protesting_parents__disgusted__with_Downhills_governors__removal/|title=Protesting parents 'disgusted' with Downhills governors' removal|author=David Hardiman|work=Haringey Independent|date=15 March 2012 |access-date=17 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723074454/http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/news/9592486.Protesting_parents__disgusted__with_Downhills_governors__removal/|archive-date=23 July 2013}}</ref>