The government has announced plans to open a new academy in September 2011 in Portland, Dorset, that is designed to provide continuous education for young people from an early age to adulthood.

Under the plans unveiled by schools secretary Ed Balls, the new academy will replace Royal Manor Arts College and provide primary, secondary and sixth form education, as well as potentially including a University of Dorset element for 18-to-21-year olds. The scheme is part of plans to create a lasting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Portland, which is scheduled to host the sailing events at the London Games in three years time.

Professor Stephen Heppell of Bournemouth University is to be the lead sponsor the new academy, along with the Royal Navy, Dorset County Council and the local Primary Care Trust (PCT). An additional £24m will also be committed by the government to the development of new buildings, which are expected to open in 2014. Balls said: "With the Olympic Sailing base to be situated in Portland, this is a fitting Olympic legacy project for the island.

"In relatively short time they have been operating, academies have made remarkable progress in turning around results in communities that have been historically failed by the education system."