BRISTOL has the highest number of primary schools the Government would like to convert into academies, it has emerged.

The Department for Education wants to force 200 struggling primary schools in England to convert to academies, which are independent of councils and control their own budgets, by September.

The schools are considered to be failing because fewer than 60 per cent of pupils have achieved a minimum standard in English and maths for five years up to 2010.

Bristol has 13 primaries that the Government has approached to become academies, higher than any other local authority area.

Both the city council and DfE refused to reveal which Bristol schools have been approached.

The Government says academy status has helped improve standards in hundreds of struggling schools.

The council's cabinet member for children and young people, Councillor Clare Campion-Smith, said: "Our absolute priority is to continue work to raise standards and we are open to proposals that will help achieve this.

"Academy conversion should be a democratic decision by the governing body of a school with its community. "It would be of concern if a school identified by the Department for Education did not want to convert and was forced to do so."