Academies, Free Schools and Comprehensives Explained

Academies, free schools and comprehensives are all free state schools that follow the national curriculum and are inspected by Ofsted. The difference lies in who runs them and how much independence they have from the local authority — for most pupils, the day-to-day experience is very similar.

What is a comprehensive school?

A comprehensive school is a non-selective state secondary school that admits pupils of all abilities from its local area. The term "comprehensive" refers to the admissions policy — not a specific legal type. Most comprehensives are either local authority maintained schools or academies (which are also comprehensive in their intake but have a different governance structure).

In practice, when parents say "the local comprehensive" they usually mean a non-selective secondary school in their catchment area, regardless of whether it is technically maintained or an academy.

What is an academy school?

An academy is a state-funded school that is not managed by the local authority. Instead, it is managed directly by an academy trust — a charity or company set up specifically to run schools. Academies receive their funding directly from the Department for Education (DfE) rather than through the local authority.

Key features of academies:

Free to attend, funded by the state

Must follow the National Curriculum in core subjects (English, Maths, Science) but have more freedom over the broader timetable

Can set their own term dates, school hours and staff pay and conditions

Inspected by Ofsted on the same schedule as maintained schools

Must admit pupils in line with the School Admissions Code (so they cannot cherry-pick intakes unless they are a selective academy)

As of 2025, around 80% of secondary schools and over 40% of primary schools in England are academies. The conversion of most maintained schools has made "maintained vs academy" a less meaningful distinction than it once was.

What is a multi-academy trust (MAT)?

Many academies are part of a multi-academy trust (MAT) — a single organisation that runs several schools. Large MATs can operate dozens of schools across multiple regions. The MAT sets shared policies on curriculum, leadership and performance management.

Being in a MAT can mean more resources and career development opportunities for staff, but also less local autonomy. Parents may find that decisions about curriculum or school leadership are made at trust level rather than by the headteacher alone. The trust's overall Ofsted inspection (called an Inspection of Multi-Academy Trusts) is separate from individual school inspections.

What is a free school?

A free school is a type of academy. It is state-funded, non-selective and free to attend, but it was set up by a new provider rather than converting from an existing school. Providers can include charities, universities, businesses, groups of parents or community groups.

Feature | Maintained school | Academy | Free school
Who manages it | Local authority | Academy trust | Academy trust (new provider)
State funded | Yes | Yes | Yes
Tuition fees | None | None | None
Follows National Curriculum | Core subjects required | Core subjects required | Core subjects required
Local authority oversight | Yes | No | No
Can set own term dates | No | Yes | Yes
Ofsted inspected | Yes | Yes | Yes

Free schools were introduced in 2011. As of 2025 there are over 600 open free schools in England, including several university technical colleges (UTCs) that focus on STEM and technical subjects.

Do academies and free schools produce better results?

The evidence is mixed. A 2022 DfE analysis found that converter academies (schools that chose to convert from good or outstanding maintained schools) show broadly similar results to similar maintained schools. Sponsored academies (schools that converted because of low performance) show greater variability — some improve significantly; others do not.

Ofsted's own data shows no consistent performance difference between academy types and maintained schools once prior attainment is accounted for. What matters more than school type is the quality of leadership, teaching and the consistency of the curriculum — all of which vary across every category.

How are admissions different for each type?

All state schools — maintained, academy or free school — must follow the School Admissions Code when allocating places. Common criteria include:

Looked-after children and previously looked-after children (always first)

Siblings already at the school

Proximity to the school (distance from home)

Faith criteria (for faith schools)

Academies and free schools can set additional criteria within the Code's rules, but they cannot select by academic ability unless they are a designated selective school. Some academies have a specialism (e.g., arts, sport, technology) and can give up to 10% of places to pupils who show aptitude in that specialism — but this is different from academic selection.

What should parents actually look for when choosing?

Rather than focusing on the school type label, parents typically find these factors more useful:

Ofsted report — read the most recent full inspection report, not just the headline grade

Progress 8 score — a DfE measure of how much pupils progress relative to similar pupils nationally (published on the DfE School Performance Tables website)

Sixth-form provision — if post-16 options matter, check whether the school has its own sixth form or has a strong track record of places at local sixth-form colleges

SEND provision — ask the SENCO directly what support looks like for pupils with needs similar to your child's

Culture and feel — visit the school during a normal school day if possible; the environment and how pupils are treated tells you more than a label

Frequently asked questions

Is an academy the same as an independent school?

No. Academies are state-funded and free to attend. Independent schools (sometimes called private or public schools) charge fees and are run outside the state system entirely. Academies are part of the state education system — the word "academy" can be confusing because in everyday English it sounds like an elite institution, but in UK school policy it simply means a particular governance structure within the free, state-funded sector.

Can a local authority take back control of an academy?

Generally no. Once a school converts to academy status, the process is not easily reversed. However, if an academy's performance deteriorates seriously, the DfE can intervene — including terminating the funding agreement with the academy trust and transferring the school to a different trust. A return to local authority control is rare and requires ministerial direction.

How do I know if my child's school is an academy, a free school or a maintained school?

Search your school's name on the DfE's "Get Information About Schools" website (get-information-schools.service.gov.uk), which lists every school in England with its legal type, trust membership, Ofsted rating and contact details. The Ofsted reports website (reports.ofsted.gov.uk) also notes the school type on each inspection report.

Do free schools have the same curriculum as other state schools?

Free schools, like all academies, must teach the National Curriculum in core subjects — English, Maths and Science — and must provide religious education. They have more flexibility over foundation and option subjects. In practice, most free schools broadly follow the National Curriculum across all year groups; the curriculum freedom is exercised mainly at GCSE options level and in the structure of the school day.

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