When Plymouth Diocese announced this month that its 35 schools were to become academies, there appeared to be little controversy in the scheme. The Plymouth schools would be joining 246 Catholic schools across the country that have already become academies, a part of the more than half of all schools in England that have converted.However, within the Church the debate over academies is highly polarised. Described as publicly funded independent schools, academies receive the same funding as state schools but do so direct from the Government rather than via the local authority. They are free to determine their curriculum and salaries for staff.Two Catholic dioceses, Liverpool and Salford, say they will have nothing to do with the scheme, while all other dioceses have become involved to a gr