Boarding school boosts PM's plans

A leading independent school has given a major boost to the Government's academies programme.

Wellington College in Berkshire, whose master is Anthony Seldon, Tony Blair's biographer, announced plans for a new boarding school for the children of army personnel.

The school, to be run as one of the new academies, designed to replace struggling inner-city schools, will have its own army cadet force to help train the soldiers of the future. It will be the first rural academy.

Wellington College, which has strong links with the armed services and was founded 150 years ago from public subscriptions to the memory of the Duke of Wellington, is involved in negotiations with governors of two state schools in Wiltshire, Castledown in Tidworth and Avon Valley in Durrington, to set up the school. It is expected to open in 2011. Both schools serve military encampments, and the new school is expected to have a substantial intake of pupils from families in the armed forces. Twenty per cent of places at the academy will be set aside for boarders.

The college, which charges fees of up to £23,000 a year and last year was the leading independent school for improving pupils' performance, is now seeking commercial sponsors for the venture. "We are deadly serious about this," said Dr Seldon. "We will be providing the educational input for the school. There will be a commitment to an all-round education, academic brilliance and developing inter-personal skills."

He added that the new school "ties in very closely with our heritage". Under present plans, the academy will operate as two separate schools on the two sites up until GCSE, and then have a combined sixth-form.

Ministers have been anxious to increase the number of independent schools and universities involved in the academies programme, in which sponsors have to come up with £2m in exchange for the right to run their schools.