First wave of ‘free schools’ to open

THe Government has confirmed 24 new “free schools” will open next month, including three in Yorkshire.

Education Secretary Michael Gove, who has championed the controversial plans, confirmed funding for the first wave of free schools has been signed and agreed.

The schools - state-funded and set up by teachers, charities, education experts and parents – are spread throughout the country but mainly concentrated in deprived areas with poor records of academic achievement. They have the same legal status as academies and do not have to follow the national curriculum, giving them more freedom than local authority schools.

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Yorkshire has been at the forefront of the free school movement since it started. The three set to open next month are Batley Grammar, which is converting from the private sector, the King’s Science Academy in Bradford, a secondary led by teacher Sajid Hussain, and the Rainbow Primary School, also in Bradford, which is backed by ATL Yorkshire, a not-for-profit enterprise support organisation.

Mr Gove said: “The most important thing for any parent is to be able to send their child to a good local school, with high standards and strong discipline. That is why we are opening free schools across the country. I am delighted to announce that the first 24 will open this year.

“Too many children are being failed by fundamental flaws in our education system. The weakest schools are concentrated in our poorest towns and cities, and we are plummeting down the international education league tables.

“In spite of years of investment, the situation is worsening. Children from disadvantaged homes are still falling behind. A change of approach is vital.

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“By freeing up teachers and trusting local communities to decide what is best, our reforms will help to raise standards for children in all schools.”

Of the 24 new free schools, 17 are primary schools, five secondary and two are all-age schools. They will open between 10 to 15 months after submitting their initial plans to the Department for Education.

In the first application window, 323 groups applied to open free schools but the Government has been coy about disclosing which bids were unsuccessful.

In June, the Yorkshire Post revealed two other bids from a parent group in Birkenshaw and an existing school in Hull have had their business cases approved by Ministers and could open new schools in 2012 and 2013.

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In addition, a plan for the Three Valleys Independent Academy, in Rotherham, was entered into a new application process for schools wanting to open in 2012.

But under the initial application process another 28 bids from the region were not successful - although the Department for Education (DfE) declined to provide details following a freedom of information request.

The DfE would only reveal the locations, which included nine from Bradford, six from Leeds, four from Doncaster and Kirklees and other bids from Barnsley, Calderdale, Hull, North Yorkshire, Rotherham Sheffield and York.

Critics of the initiative have claimed it will be socially divisive and benefit middle class parents with the skills to organise and establish new schools. The DfE said half of the first batch of 24 are located in the most deprived 30 per cent of communities in the country.

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The Government has pointed to the performance of similar American charter schools which have cut the gap separating inner-city students from those in the wealthiest suburbs by 86 per cent in maths and 66 per cent in English.