SIX out of seven academy schools planned for Birmingham have been given government approval.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has decided that Aston Engineering Academy, North Birmingham Academy, Heartlands, Sheldon Heath, Shenley Court and St Alban’s academies will still be built despite the public sector spending squeeze.

Only Harborne Academy has an uncertain future and won’t discover its fate until after the Government spending review in the autumn.

Academies, which are free from local council control and usually sponsored by private firms or charities, will drive up academic standards according to Ministers.

Mr Gove’s decision sparked a political row when it emerged that five proposed Black Country and Staffordshire academies have been mothballed.