COUNCIL officers are expecting a surge of school applications to become academies ahead of a September deadline, potentially compromising council funding and services.

Hurworth School opens as an academy today and could serve as a forerunner for other secondary schools in Darlington borough.

It is the second school in the town to become an academy - following Eastbourne's conversion to St Aidan's Academy in September 2009.

However, Hurworth is the first of the coalition Government's new academies in Darlington.

The scheme was launched by Education Secretary Michael Gove last May to enable schools to receive Government funding directly and commission services independent of the local authority.

Members of Darlington Borough Council's resources scrutiny committee asked to hear what the consequences to the authority would be if other schools sought academy status.

Andy Collishaw, the council's finance manager for people, said it was likely that most of the authority's secondary schools could convert during the 2011-12 school year.

As well as approving Hurworth's application, the Department for Education was considering three other applications from Darlington schools.

Mr Collishaw said because it only took three months to change over, many schools could do so by September, when extra funding is available to schools.

Another 17 primary schools could also make applications.

Mr Collishaw said the council was waiting for five secondary schools to submit a bid.

A report was written for the committee to start its findings into the financial consequences for the authority.

Further work will be carried out as future intentions are known.

Mr Collishaw said up to £2m of funding which the council receives could instead go directly to the new academies, potentially having an impact on services provided to schools which do not convert.

The money goes towards behaviour support services, advanced skills teachers, newly qualified teachers, redundancy costs and services provided for all schools.

Schools which convert to academies would also be responsible for exclusions, admissions criteria and appeals and other shared services.

Such services could be provided by the council or privatised.

Mr Collishaw added that the Department for Education, rather than the council, would be responsible if a school's performance dropped.