Children at 14 academies achieved better GCSE results last year than they were expected to when they started their secondary education, based on their scores in primary school tests at 11. The research was carried out by Professor David Jesson, of University of York, and David Crossley, of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.

Children at academies had lower scores in English, mathematics and science tests at 11 than pupils at any other type of school. But they had made the greatest progress by age 16. Based on their achievements at 11, an average of 29.5 per cent of academy pupils were expected to pass at least five GCSEs at at least grade C. But 35.5 per cent reached this standard, giving academies a “value-added” score of six percentage points.

Specialist schools added 1.6 percentage points to the expected GCSE results of their pupils. An average of 58 per cent of children at 1,838 schools gained five good passes, against a predicted 56.4 per cent. But students at 1,090 comprehensives, without specialist status, achieved results last year that were worse than expected, given the abilities of the children on entry. An average of 49.7 per cent of pupils were predicted to gain five good GCSEs, but only 46.7 per cent did. The research concluded: “The 14 academies with GCSE cohorts in 2005 performed best of all on a value-added basis, with a value-added score of plus 6 compared to a minus value added score of 3 for non-specialist schools.”

The findings will be welcomed by Tony Blair, who has pledged to open 200 academies in place of failing and underperforming inner-city schools by 2010. There are now 27 academies but most have not been open long enough to feature in lists of exam results.

The £5 billion policy has come under repeated attack from teaching unions, which oppose the involvement of private sponsors. In return for a £2 million donation towards the typical capital cost of £25 million, sponsors are given control of an academy’s governing body.

Ofsted has also issued a series of critical inspection reports for academies. Unity city academy in Middlesbrough was condemned this month for the second time in a year for achieving “exceptionally low” results and “inadequate progress”. GCSE results in academies continue to lag behind the national average of 56.3 per cent of pupils achieving five good grades. Results issued yesterday from the 2005 national curriculum tests at 14, however, showed that the achievement gap is narrowing. However, eight academies failed to meet their target of getting at least 50 per cent of pupils to the expected level in all three tests. Results at seven academies placed them in the bottom 200 state schools in England.

Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, called on ministers to abandon the policy. “It must be a great disappointment to the parents who believed the Government’s publicity that just calling a school an academy and bringing in a commercial sponsor would result in substantial improvement in performance,” he said.

Lord Adonis, the Schools Minister, said: “You can’t criticise academies for not yet being at the top of the table when they started the game behind on penalties thanks to poor standards at the failing schools they replaced. But they are getting there, as today’s re- sults show. They are improving rapidly and will be among the very best schools in the future.”

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