A QUIET revolution is sweeping through the schools of Huddersfield.

Across the town, more and more places of learning are freeing themselves from the smothering grip of Kirklees Council and racing into the loving arms of central Government.

School after school in Huddersfield is converting to an academy – Moor End Technology College, Shelley College, Salendine Nook High and even Lindley Juniors are all taking the plunge.

It seems inevitable that more will follow as the Government pushes through a rapid acceleration of Labour’s original academy programme.

You may wonder why this matters. Who cares if a few councillors are kicked off the board of governors or a different name is put on the sign at the school gates?

But these changes are not cosmetic. The headlong dash towards academy status will alter the fabric of education in England.

The academy system was introduced by New Labour more than a decade ago as a way to improve poorly performing schools.

The reform gave businesses the chance to invest in so-called “bog standard comps” in the belief that a bit of can-do capitalism could turn around decades of failure.

But this founding principle of academies – public sector bad, private sector good – now belongs to the pre-credit crunch era when the free market appeared to have triumphed over all other economic systems.

The last three years has shown us that the profit motive does not always lead to the sanest outcome.

Despite this, the coalition government has accelerated the academy programme. Last year, education secretary Michael Gove announced that all schools judged by Ofsted to be “outstanding” could get on the fast-track to academy status.

Some of the high-performing schools in Huddersfield have taken this opportunity, with most hoping to make the switch in time for the new school year in September.

I wonder why governors in Huddersfield are so keen on academy status. By switching over, schools are effectively opting out of the Kirklees sphere of influence.

In other words, instead of being funded from Huddersfield they will be funded from London.

And I’m baffled about what is so terrible about remaining within the council sector. What is it that Kirklees is preventing these schools from doing that they could do as academies?

Perhaps there was a time back in the 1950s when the local councillor decided what was for school dinners on Thursdays and what colour chalk the teachers should use. But those days are gone.

Councils do not micro-manage the running of schools – they leave that to the headteacher.

What councils do is provide central services such as school dinners and buses – the kind of things which a large central authority can provide more cheaply than an individual school.

There is another area where schools benefit from the council’s central services – that of media relations.

It amuses and infuriates me how schools see their relationship with the press.

Allow me to explain. When a school has a good news story – say, one of the students has won a national award – then they don’t hesitate to call the Examiner to ask for a picture and a write-up. It goes without saying that we are more than happy to oblige.

But not all news is good news. When something goes wrong at a school – say, a teacher is accused of punching a pupil – the headteacher tends to get very shy.

When we phone for a comment, the answer is nearly always “speak to the council press office.”

I find it depressing that headteachers – some of whom earn north of £70,000 a year – feel unable to conduct a conversation with a journalist.

There are many far less well-paid public servants – such as councillors – who are able to talk to an Examiner reporter without getting all faint.

But not headteachers. When something goes wrong, they invariably hide behind the council.

If there is one good thing about the dash to academy status, it’s that the apron strings to the Kirklees press office will be cut.

You wanted “freedom” from the council? Well you’re about to get it.

And, by the way, “headteacher X declined to comment” looks really bad in print.