FOUR of the region’s top secondary schools are considering opting out of council control and applying for academy status.

If successful, the schools – all rated outstanding by Ofsted – would get greater control of their budgets, staff and curriculum.

It is understood the four – Christopher Whitehead Language College and Nunnery Wood High, both in Worcester, The Chantry in Martley and Prince Henry’s High, Evesham – would work together to pool some resources and best practice.

The schools would not change their names, uniforms or admission procedures but would get their funding from government.

As academies, they would each receive about £500,000 more a year.

Christopher Whitehead and Nunnery Wood hope to submit their bids in January and are consulting staff and parents. They could become academies as early as September in time for the new school year.

In May 2010, Nunnery Wood, a specialist science college, was given high performing specialist schools status and ranked in the top 30 per cent of specialist schools in the country.

Christopher Whitehead received the coveted ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted in July after inspectors were “awestruck” by its high standards.

Neil Morris, headteacher of Christopher Whitehead, said: “We have been discussing with Nunnery Wood and other schools how we can make this work. We want to focus on how this can benefit education in Worcester.”

Alun Williams, headteacher of Nunnery Wood, said: “We are very excited about this prospect of becoming an academy. There are educational advantages and financial ones.

“Each academy will get its own funds, but there will be pooling of resources and we can work together even more.”

Tudor Grange became Worcester’s first academy in September 2009. Formerly Elgar Technology College, it was classed as failing by Ofsted. It is sponsored by the Tudor Grange in Solihull.

As they are rated as ‘outstanding’, the four latest schools are not required to have a sponsor.

Worcestershire County Council’s cabinet member for education Marcus Hart welcomed the idea, saying it was committed to helping schools improve.

He said: “It’s putting more power in the hands of the front-line decision makers and the community. It gives greater freedom to governing bodies and parents to develop their schools in a way that will benefit their pupils.”

No one from Prince Henry’s High School was available to comment.