I can see the situation getting so much worse with the opening of these new Academy schools. I think/hope that ds1 would just about cope in an ordinary secondary school but he's got no chance if the powers-that-be decide that he's got to go to an Academy.
I agree with the sentiment that there is very little choice out there. AFAIK there are no autism units anywhere in this area. The chances of ds1 getting a place in a special school are also virtually zero. I have a feeling that things will get a lot worse before any improvements are made to the current system.