Top public school to back academy

Winchester College costs students £22,000-a-year

A Hampshire public school will sponsor one of the government's flagship academies as part of a drive to improve education for poorer children.

Winchester College will help run a planned new state academy at Midhurst and share materials and staff training.

The announcement comes as private schools face losing tax breaks worth £100m a year if they are exclusive.

Headmaster Ralph Townsend said he wants to develop a strong relationship with the new school.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Winchester to look outward, to share our knowledge and experience with those with similar aspirations to us and to learn from our partner organisation," he said.

"The historic mission of Winchester College fits well with the aims of the academies programme."

Formal sponsor

Schools minister Lord Adonis, who devised the academies programme under Tony Blair, said Winchester's backing was "a decisive moment".

"Winchester is a powerhouse of academic excellence, which it will bring to its academy and to the wider programme," he said.

The minister said at least 20 private schools were engaged in the academies scheme.

The United Learning Trust (ULT) - in a partnership with Winchester College - will be the sole formal sponsor of the proposed academy.

'Exclusive clubs'

The 600-year-old Winchester College teaches about 770 boys and costs more than £22,000-a-year.

In exchange for up to £2m, it will have a say in how the new school is run, setting its ethos and appointing governors.

The Charity Commission has warned that private schools face losing tax breaks that go with their charitable status if they operate as exclusive clubs for the children of wealthy parents.

But teachers' unions have criticised the programme as privatisation of state education.