Free schools and academies are both state-funded secondary schools that sit outside local authority control. Academies have existed since 2000; free schools were introduced in 2010. Neither charges fees. The key differences lie in who establishes them, how they are governed, and what curriculum freedoms they hold.
What is an academy school?
An academy is a state-funded school that operates independently of local authority control. Academies receive funding directly from the Department for Education (DfE) through a Funding Agreement, rather than through their local council. They were first created by the Academies Act 2000 and expanded significantly under the Academies Act 2010.
There are two main types of academy:
Sponsored academies are typically schools that were underperforming and have been taken over by a sponsor — which may be a successful school, a university, a business, or a charitable trust. The sponsor takes responsibility for running the school and turning around its performance. This was the original model and was central to the academies programme's early years.
Converter academies are schools that were already performing well and chose to convert to academy status for the greater autonomy it offers. Most academy conversions in recent years have been converter academies. When a school converts, it may join an existing Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or form a new trust.
Academies can join Multi-Academy Trusts — groups of academies run by a single company or charitable trust. The largest MATs manage dozens of schools and can offer shared resources, teacher training, and central leadership that smaller individual schools cannot.
What is a free school?
A free school is a type of academy that is set up from scratch by groups of parents, teachers, charities, faith groups, universities, or businesses. Instead of converting an existing school, free schools create new institutions where none existed before.
Free schools were introduced by the coalition government in 2010, partly as a mechanism for communities to create the schools they felt were missing from their area — whether a new bilingual school, a school with a particular educational philosophy, or a school that addresses a shortage of local places.
Like academies, free schools:
- Receive funding directly from the DfE
- Are independent of local authority control
- Can set their own pay and conditions for staff
- Do not have to follow the National Curriculum (but must teach English, Maths, and Sciences at KS4)
- Are inspected by Ofsted on the same framework as other schools
University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and studio schools are specific variants of free schools — they have a more vocational or applied focus and typically recruit from age 14 rather than age 11.
How do they compare?
| Feature | Academy | Free School |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Converts from an existing school | Created from scratch as a new institution |
| First introduced | 2000 (Academies Act 2000) | 2010 (Academies Act 2010 Programme) |
| Funding | Direct from DfE | Direct from DfE |
| Local authority control | No | No |
| National Curriculum | Not required to follow (but must teach core subjects) | Not required to follow (but must teach core subjects) |
| Can set own staff pay? | Yes | Yes |
| Inspected by | Ofsted | Ofsted |
| Admission policy | Must follow admissions code; no selection by ability (unless grammar school) | Must follow admissions code; no selection by ability |
| Can join a MAT? | Yes | Yes |
| Fees? | No — state funded | No — state funded |
What does this mean for parents choosing a school?
For most parents, the day-to-day experience of a child at an academy or a free school is indistinguishable from a maintained community school. The curriculum, the qualifications taken, and the Ofsted inspection framework are the same. The fact that a school is an academy or a free school does not by itself mean it is better or worse than a maintained school.
What does vary is accountability and governance:
- Academy and free school governors are trustees of the academy trust, not locally elected representatives — some parents feel this reduces local accountability
- Multi-Academy Trusts introduce a second tier of governance above the individual school; decisions about headteacher appointments and school funding can be made at the trust level rather than the school level
- Free schools are newer on average and may have less established track records; some are excellent from the outset, others take several years to build strong results
Ofsted reports remain the most reliable independent source of information about any individual school's quality, regardless of its type.
Do academies and free schools produce better results?
The evidence is mixed. Some academy conversions have resulted in dramatic improvements in schools that were previously failing. Free schools, as a group, have variable performance records — some are among the highest-performing state schools in their areas, others have struggled. The Academy Trust matters considerably: research has consistently found that MAT quality varies significantly, and the trust a school belongs to is often a stronger predictor of outcomes than the academy or free school label itself.
Parents researching schools should look at Ofsted ratings, Progress 8 scores (which measure how much progress pupils make relative to their starting points), and trends in those scores over time — all available on school and college performance tables published by the DfE.
Frequently asked questions
Are free schools selective?
No. Free schools are not permitted to select pupils by academic ability unless they are established as grammar schools (which requires specific government approval and is extremely rare for new schools). Free schools use the same admissions code as other state schools — they cannot prefer academically able applicants. Some free schools have faith-based admissions criteria if they are faith free schools, governed by the same rules as faith maintained schools.
Can a local authority close an academy or free school if it is failing?
A local authority has no direct power to close an academy or free school — this is one of the structural differences from maintained schools, where the local authority retains that power. A failing academy or free school is subject to Ofsted intervention and, ultimately, the DfE can terminate the Funding Agreement and require the school to be taken over by a different trust. The process is managed centrally rather than locally.
What is a Multi-Academy Trust and should parents be concerned about it?
A Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) is a company that runs multiple academies under a single governance structure. The largest MATs — such as Ark Schools, Harris Federation, and United Learning — each run dozens of schools. A well-run MAT can offer schools more resources, specialist expertise, and career development for teachers. Concerns arise when a MAT takes decisions that affect individual schools — including staffing and budgeting — without adequate transparency or parental input. Parents can attend the Local Governing Body meetings of their child's school, which are public, to understand how decisions are made.
Is there an Ofsted difference between academies, free schools, and maintained schools?
No. Ofsted uses the same inspection framework for all state-funded schools regardless of type. An academy that receives an "Outstanding" rating is being assessed against the same criteria as a maintained community school that receives "Good." Parents can use Ofsted ratings and reports to compare schools regardless of their type or governance structure.
See how AI Tutors at aitutors.me support students at all types of secondary schools — academy, free school, or maintained — with personalised KS3 and GCSE tutoring.