Commenting on the Department of Education’s publication of the 153 schools which have applied for Academy status, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said; 

“We were assured by the Secretary of State, during the Queen's Speech debate on 2 June that 'more than 1,100 schools have applied for Academy freedoms'. (1) The publication of this latest list means that 957 of those schools decided not to seek academy status.  One has to question why the Secretary of State felt the need to exaggerate and mislead the public in this way.
 
“We are far short of Michael Gove's much vaunted claims. Of the 153, a few may even have already had their application rejected.
 
"This does not mean 153 schools will end up as an Academy - the application has to be agreed, a consultation exercise followed and a Governing Body may well change its mind in between an Academy Order being granted and the Funding Agreement signed.
 
“The NUT will continue its campaign to persuade governing bodies to remain in their local authority family of schools. Where governing bodies consider Academy status, we will of course campaign for a proper, genuine consultation before any decision is made.”