History will be made for Norfolk today as Wymondham College became the first of the new wave of academies in the county.

The south Norfolk state boarding school got the go-ahead yesterday evening – along with three other state boarding schools across the country – to change its status, following months of detailed negotiations with the Department for Education (DfE).

Principal Melvyn Roffe said he was 'delighted' that education ministers had signed off the funding agreement.

He said: 'The process to get to where we have got has not been straightforward, but we are now looking forward to having a level of autonomy which we've not had before.'

The status means Wymondham College will get its funding direct from the government, rather than via Norfolk County Council.

Wymondham College is already the lead sponsor of Thetford Academy, which replaced Charles Burrell and Rosemary Musker high schools in Thetford when it opened in September 2010.

For further coverage, see this week's Wymondham and Attleborough Mercury.