Those who have joined the scheme will now start working towards becoming a trust school – a state funded foundation school supported by a charitable trust.

Teachers’ unions and parents have condemned the programme – where schools team up with companies, universities, charities and other partners in a bid to improve education – as a step towards privatisation.

Sally Kincaid, divisional secretary for the National Union of Teachers’ Wakefield branch, said: “Creating more trust schools will do nothing to improve education in the area.

“Becoming a trust school involves a massive transfer of land, which currently belongs to taxpayers, to an unknown entity.

“Businesses involved can then use their partnership to secure other contracts and there will be nothing to stop them selling off land for other purposes.”

Trust schools, an initiative established under Labour’s education reform in 2006, remain part of the local authority system and are funded the same way as other schools.

The supporting trusts – one of which may be a council – own school land and buildings while governing bodies employ staff and set admission arrangements.

Mrs Kincaid added: “There will no longer be a monogamous marriage between schools and local authorities.

“Currently parents can go to an authority with problems but with trust schools they won’t be able to.

“A lot of parents have expressed concerns about these plans and other unions share our opposition.”

Any maintained school can apply to win a place in the trust programme.

There are currently no trusts in the district – although Outwood Grange School, Wakefield City High and Horbury School in Wakefield are expected to launch joint project The Aspire Trust in May.

Elaine McHale, Wakefield Council’s corporate director for family services, said the decision to seek trust status stood with schools’ governing bodies.

She added: “Where the authority is invited to be a trust partner, it will consider each invitation in the light of policy and other intended partners.”

The Department for Children, Schools and Families last week announced that 115 new schools would work towards trust school status.