PKF Education Services

The sponsored academies programme was first introduced over a decade ago with an objective to help improve underperforming schools and create new schools where demand existed. Since that time, over 350 sponsored academies have opened with many more currently in the planning phase.

Sponsor organisations range from universities and successful schools to businesses, faith bodies and charities. The role of the sponsor is to create and implement a vision for the academy that challenges traditional methods of running a school and addresses a culture of low aspiration and achievement.

For the last six years, PKF have worked with sponsors and the Department for Education to achieve such transformational change. We have worked with many different types of sponsors across the country, on developing a range of academies including, for example:

• Federated academies – Wolverhampton North and South (opened September 2009 and September 2010)
• New build academies – Birmingham Ormiston Academy (opened September 2011)
• Faith academies – The De La Salle Academy, Liverpool (opened January 2011)
• 2 into 1 academies – North Durham Academy (opened September 2011)
• All Through academies – Birkenhead High School Academy (opened September 2009)
• Multiple sponsor academies – Maltby Academy, Rotherham (opened January 2010)