One in seven of Kent’s schools say they could become one of a new generation of independent academies, it has emerged.

More than 80 of the county’s 585 secondary and primary schools have expressed an interest in joining the government’s new academy programme.

It would effectively see them break away from Kent County Council control and be given much greater freedom to run their affairs.

Figures released by the Department for Education show that 81 schools in the county have registered an interest in becoming an academy.

They include a significant number of the county’s highest-performing grammar schools as well as non-selective secondaries and primaries.

If all were to follow through and formally apply, Kent would see one of the most far-reaching upheavals in its schools for decades.

It could also spell serious financial consequences for the education authority, which would lose money to the schools that it normally holds back to pay for a number of support services.

Education chiefs have estimated that as much as £2million could be stripped from KCC’s schools budget based only on all outstanding schools opting into the academy programme.

Of the Kent schools detailed in the DfE’s list, 35 are outstanding, meaning their applications could be fast-tracked by the government, which wants to see the first wave of academies up and running by September.

Eleven of these outstanding schools are grammars, with a further seven being non-selective secondaries.

The remaining 17 are primary schools which until now have not been able to apply for academy status.

Of the 46 other schools expressing an interest, four are grammars, ten are non-selective secondaries and the remainder are primaries.

Academy status is a cornerstone policy for the new coalition government but has come under fire from councils, who fear it would make their job of planning schooling and supporting other schools more difficult.

Cllr Sarah Hohler (Con), KCC cabinet member for children’s services, criticised the fast pace at which the government was moving.

Speaking at a cabinet scrutiny committee meeting, she said parents were at risk of being left in the dark.

"The timing is incredibly bad and it is critical that parents know what is happening."

During the election, KCC leader Paul Carter also signalled his concerns about the financial impact on councils.

"At the moment the more academies and free schools you operate, under the current academy funding arrangements, the less maintained schools would get," he said.