Minister orders academy schools probe

The network of independent state schools was launched by Tony Blair in a bid to boost educational achievement, particularly in the inner cities, and has won the support of his successor Gordon Brown, who two weeks ago called for 150 new academies in the next three years.

But the academies have come in for criticism, with the cross-party House of Commons public accounts committee warning last month that ministers had failed to keep costs under control at the schools, while standards of education were too low.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) confirmed that Children's Secretary Ed Balls had asked for a review of academies by Mr Brown's Delivery Unit, due to report within a few months.

The Number 10 unit will question academy head teachers and business sponsors, following a workshop at Downing Street earlier this month.

An invitation to participate, seen by The Guardian newspaper, described the study as an "intensive piece of work to help DCSF gather lessons learned so far in addressing disadvantage... (and) the culture of under-attainment in the most challenging communities".

The DCSF spokesman said that the commissioning of the review was not an indication that the Government was preparing to retreat from the academy programme.

The Government was committed to increasing the number of academies from the current 83 to 200 by 2010, with the target of eventually reaching 400 schools - one in nine of all secondaries in England - said the spokesman.

"This review is designed to check that the programme is on course and delivering what it is supposed to deliver," he said.

The DCSF pointed to recent results at GCSE Key Stage 3, which it said showed improvements at academies well above the national average.