After his narrow victory with the Education Bill, Tony Blair finally thought he had something to celebrate when he announced that there are now 100 Academy schools either open or underway.

The reality is far less rosy with just 27 schools actually open and 73 at the implementation or feasibility stage. Given the number of sponsors who have wanted to open an Academy, but who have not gone ahead for various reasons (including Jasper Conran, GEMS, ARK and Brunel University) the Prime Minister’s target of 200 may be some way off yet. To make matters more difficult, one of the unintended consequences of the new Education Bill and Trust schools in particular, may be that it leads to a diminution of funds available to Academies (and Specialist Schools) from the limited funds of sponsors interested in education.