An independent school headmaster spoke today of his soldier brother's experiences in Afghanistan as he called on his counterparts to back the academy schools programme.

Richard Cairns, head of Brighton College, said every school had a duty to make sure pupils had a strong enough education to understand conflicts around the world.

He said: "Conversations with my brother in his more serious moments have served as a constant reminder to me this year of the things that are going on in our world today over which we seem to have no control and of which too many people are so ignorant."

He spoke of his own experiences as a young teacher in Palestine and the difficulty of having to explain to children that most young people in the UK did not only not know where the Gaza Strip was but would also not care.

He said schools must address this failing and said it was important for them to be given the necessary independence to do so. He stressed that academy schools were a step towards this goal.

He said: "The Government and the opposition have taken the first faltering steps through their support of the academy programme towards recognising that the independent school model not only works but can be applied to the state sector."

Mr Cairns made his call before an audience of more than 250 other independent school headteachers at the college's annual conference today.

Among the audience were Conservative shadow education secretary Michael Gove, who signalled his intention to develop the academy programme if his party wins the next general election, and charity commission chairwoman Dame Suzi Leather, who spoke of the importance for independent school to fulfil their charitable status.

In Sussex, academies have been proposed to replace Falmer High in Brighton, Littlehampton Community College, Midhurst Grammar School, Boundstone Community College in Lancing and King's Manor Community College in Shoreham.

The schools have prompted controversy, with opponents suggesting they are a way of privatising state assets.

Each would be built using government funding topped up with a donation from a sponsor who would have a say in their curriculum and management.

The Government's intention was to bring outside expertise into the state education sector.

Four of the Sussex academies have independent school groups as potential sponsors.

The Woodard Corporation, which runs Lancing College and dozens of other independent schools, has backed three of the schemes, while the fourth has been sponsored by the United Learning Trust, the UK's largest independent school group, and Winchester College.