The former Goldman Sachs bosses Ron Beller and his wife Jennifer Moses were lastsplashed across newspapers when their secretary Joyti DeLaurey was convicted of stealing a total of £4.4m from the Bellers’ personal bank accounts and that of another boss at the firm.

The ensuing court case three years ago revealed details of vast wealth and a lifestyle that would seem fabulous to many: such as a surprise 40th birthday party for Moses in Rome for about 40 couples thrown by her husband and £85,000 spent on personal travel by the family in just one year.

Less publicised were the couple’s links with philanthropy: both are involved in Ark (Absolute Return for Kids), the children’s charity chaired by multi-millionaire financier Arpad “Arki” Busson, the former boyfriend of the model Elle Macpherson.

Labour’s city academy programme, which encourages the wealthy to sponsor failing schools, matches £2m in private donations with up to £25m of state cash to build a new academy: Ark has plans to back seven such academies, some sponsored by City and hedge fund benefactors.

This week the first academy sponsored by the Bellers is due to open in west London. The £24m King Solomon academy for 3 to 18-year-olds is one of 36 city academies opening this autumn as the government presses ahead with its goal of 400 nationwide. So far there are 47 academies up and running; at the end of this year the government insists there will be 83. But like others King Solomon is involved in a race against building deadlines.

A short walk from Edgware Road Tube station, Venessa Willms, the tall, confident South African head of the infant school in the new academy, is talking to builders. Construction workers, bits of wood and dust are rife on the site – from which another school was operating until just six weeks ago.

A temporary school for the 27 four-year-olds enrolling on Friday (parents include cleaners and the jobless) has been erected at the back of the site and soon hoardings will screen pupils from the main building. Behind these, work will go on to create an 800-pupil school organised into four sections. Eleven-year-olds will be admitted in two years’ time, when an overall head teacher will also start work.

King Solomon differs from other academies in that it’s a brand new school rather than a rebadging of an existing, usually failing, one. Expectations are high. “It’s not good enough for the national average to be around 60% of children getting five good GCSEs,” says Willms. “Every child [here] will get that. Too often in inner city schools children fail to believe they can go on to great things.”

There’s a lot of American influence: the Bellers are American and Ron, who, since leaving Goldman Sachs, has set up a hedge fund called Peloton Partners, was involved in advising the mayor of New York on schools. “Ron and Jen’s expectations are very high. They are passionate about education and they feel there is room for improvement in the British system,” says Willms.

Ark’s director of education, Jay Alt-man, is a pioneer of America’s charter schools: a movement that lets parents and teachers run education. “Some of our philosophy is aligned with the charter schools movement,” confirms Willms. King Solomon will have a longer school day – from 8.30am to 4pm. Like all Ark academies it will specialise in maths. The school will stay small: Willms says the huge size of some comprehensives can put children off learning.

Gordon Brown has so far honoured Tony Blair’s commitment to academies – with one twist – he wants universities to sponsor them. David Cam-eron is backing academies, rather than grammar schools as a way of raising education standards too.

Despite the programme’s controversial history – academies were overshadowed for a while by allegations that the government offered honours to businessmen acting as sponsors and several projects, including plans for an academy sponsored by fashion designer Jasper Conran, collapsed in the face of council and teaching union resistance – they seem here to stay.

The jury is out on whether they will succeed: GCSE results from 24 academies in 2006 were still below the national average. Even Labour MPs don’t seem convinced: former transport minister Karen Buck withdrew her child from Paddington academy, not far from King Solomon, last year after just one term. Its new buildings were unfinished and there was litter and graffiti on site.

Back at King Solomon, the logistics are pressing. “Will King Solomon really open this week?” I ask, as a screw falls to the floor near us. “Definitely,” says Willms.

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