W hen academies were first promoted by the Government, they were heralded as a way to combat decades of under-achievement and unlock millions of pounds.

But there was fierce opposition about the prospect of handing over so much responsibility and power to sponsors — who have so far ranged from universities and educational establishments, to commercial organisations like The Carphone Warehouse.

Nearly 10 years since the programme was first launched, the debate continues to rage in Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire now has two academies, the North Oxfordshire Academy in Banbury, and Oxford Academy in Littlemore, both of which replaced struggling schools.

And there are proposals for a further two, to replace Oxford School in East Oxford and the European School in Culham.

Michael Waine, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for schools improvement, said: “We are very much in favour of diversity in education but over and above that, we want all children to have access to good local schools.

“The promotion of academies has been in areas where schools themselves have struggled over years to raise overall levels of attainment.

“North Oxfordshire Academy has improved attainment but not as fast as they or we would have hoped, while in the case of Peers, now Oxford Academy, I think it is too early to make a judgement.

“Both schools are located in the highest areas of social deprivation in the county and in both cases there are clear signs that the perception of the schools, now academies, has changed and the North Oxfordshire Academy is now oversubscribed for the second year running.”

It has been just over a year since Oxford Academy, sponsored by the Diocese of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and the Beecroft Trust, opened.

The first set of GCSE results for the school showed the proportion of pupils achieving five A* to Cs jumped five percentage points to 43 per cent. But the school still did not manage to hit the Government target of at least 30 per cent of pupils achieving the higher grades.

Mike Reading is the academy’s principal. He said: “Being an academy has brought a once-in-a-generation opportunity to a school that was regarded as having particular challenges.

“It has allowed us to focus on the heart of school life — the learning of our students.

“Last year, our students spoke about changed uniform and higher expectations; this year they speak of big developments in the quality of learning and of feeling cared for. Being an academy has allowed our students to experience these things at the same time and it is very exciting to be part of that rapid change.”

A group, the Oxford Anti-Academy Alliance, was set up to oppose the transformation of Peers into the new academy, and objectors had a vocal presence at meetings during the consultation over the proposals.

Mr Reading said he believed there had been great improvements in the schools relationship with parents.

He said: “We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of parents who chose the Academy as their first preference of secondary school and this is set to rise once again this year.

“More and more local parents see a very positive future at the academy for their sons and daughters.

“Students tell us they believe the academy is a changed place, not just because of the results but because they feel happy and safe, and because they understand the teachers want them to do well and succeed.”

He added: “We need to ensure that success is measured both by the results our students achieve as well as by the success we achieve in meeting the expectations of the wider community.

“Our academy is absolutely focused on raising the aspirations and achievements of all our students this year, next year and beyond, delivering a curriculum that excites, motivates and challenges them.”

If the European School gets the Government nod to become an academy, it will be a UK first, a multilingual academy.

Currently the pupil body is mostly made up of the children of EU employees and other large European employers, with just a handful of local families paying fees to send their children there.

Its EU funding is drawing to a close, meaning the academy plan looks to be the best way to keep the establishment — where children are taught between two and five different languages — up and running.

As a Government funded academy, any parent will be able to apply for their sons and daughters to be educated there, without facing hefty tuition fees.

It is hard to argue against the potential benefits of the European School becoming an academy.

But the Oxford School proposal is altogether different.

A group of parents and former governors have banded together to form another campaign group, Save Oxford School, to protest against the plans.

Consultation is due to start this month but, in the last few days of 2009, sponsors the United Learning Trust pulled out of the scheme to concentrate on other projects.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families promised the local authority it would help find another sponsor — but as this guide went to press none had been publicly identified.

The school had also received its best-ever GCSE results last summer, beating the national challenge target with 35 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to Cs including English and maths — a rise of 12 percentage points.

It also received the county’s highest contextual value-added score, measuring how far pupils had progressed from their starting point at the school.

But Mr Waine said something still needed to be done.

He said: “The numbers have been falling off at the school for some years and the fact is the majority of parents prefer to choose to send their children elsewhere.

”This is why I and others believe we need to do something structurally to change that.

“An academy in my view offers something different, different ways of working and can bring in staff with much more flexibility than a state school.”

The Oxfordshire branch of the National Union of Teachers has opposed the academy plans — and spoke against the existing academies when they were first mooted.

Executive member Chris Blakey said: “We don’t think academies are the way forward.

“Oxford School has shown a real improvement and that has come in part because of the input of teachers at the school, and to a certain extent extra funding released by the local authority.

“Certainly a lot of parents would be put off the idea of it being an academy and that could further damage the school roll.”

He said the school as it was had huge levels of community involvement — something he did not believe could be retained in the same way if the school became an academy.

Feasibility studies on both proposed academies are due to take place this term, along with detailed consultation, with the intention being the new academies would open in September 2010.

The academy model is clearly yet to win over all sectors of the Oxfordshire community, but its future role in the community — and levels of support for new academies — looks set to become clearer in the coming months.