Melinda Tilley, the county council member for schools improvement, seems convinced that academies are the way to go.

If secondary schools think they will be better off getting cash direct from the Government, then they should cut the apron strings with County Hall.

Yesterday we learned Eynsham’s Bartholomew School is lodging a bid to become an academy.

It is the first school in West Oxfordshire to make the move and could open the floodgates to many others. So far, so good.

In Oxford, Spires Academy and Oxford Academy have seen exam improvements since sealing the deal.

There has also been a clear change in aspects of school life, such as behaviour.

Meanwhile, academy managers can make serious strides forward in commercial gains for schools and generating new streams of income.

But, if things go wrong, where do schools turn? The academy model is still in its infancy. Independence comes with added responsibility. If schools get themselves into trouble, they will have to get themselves out.

It is imperative for other Oxfordshire schools pondering the move to make sure they are on solid foundations.