OXFORD’s Cheney School is the latest to covert to academy status.

The Headington school became an academy at the beginning of the year, it was revealed yesterday.

It is the fourth of Oxford’s secondary schools to become an academy, following Oxford Academy, Oxford Spires Academy and The Cherwell School.

Matthew Arnold School and St Gregory the Great School have both applied to the Department for Education to convert.

Cheney headteacher Jolie Kirby, pictured, said in a letter to parents that the school would retain the same name.

She said: “We continue the development of our school vision into practice through our work on the Cheney School Charter.

“This charter will ensure we maintain our ethos and values and build on our success as a community comprehensive school, which is non-selective and provides a high standard of education to all students.”

The Oxford Mail published a full breakdown of all Oxfordshire’s academies on Monday.

Four more primary schools have now applied to convert.

They are St John’s Primary School, Wallingford, Manor School, Didcot, Ladygrove Park Primary School, Didcot, and Hornton Primary School in Banbury.