New schools bring total number of free school places to 175,000
19 Jun 2014 04:02 PM
The Education Secretary
has approved 38 new free schools, which will create 22,000 school places across
England and drive up standards.
Thirty-eight free schools,
providing 22,000 places, have been approved by Education Secretary Michael Gove
today (19 June 2014).
Free schools are brand new
schools set up by parents, teachers and charities in response to demand from
the local community. Today’s announcement brings the total number of open
and approved free schools to 331, creating 175,000 new places
overall.
Through free schools and
academies, the government is taking power away from politicians and bureaucrats
and handing it to heads and teachers, so that they can run new schools and
provide for pupils in the way they think best. Free schools are driving up
standards and ensuring more parents have a great school in their
neighbourhood.
Among the projects approved
today:
- the Crystal Palace Primary
School - conceived by a group of parents that were fed up with the lack of
choice in their area. In addition to following the national curriculum, the
school will make sure their pupils develop determination, optimism, curiosity
and a hard work ethic
- a new creative and performing
arts sixth-form college - LIPA Sixth-Form College - established by
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts which was founded in 1996 by its lead
patron, Sir Paul McCartney
- the Powerlist Post 16 Leadership
College - a partnership between Aspirations Academy Trust and the Powerlist
Foundation - the group behind the Powerlist magazine, which profiles
Britain’s most influential black people. The partnership wish to share
their success with tomorrow’s leaders and will focus on combining
academic success and developing leadership skills, especially for pupils from
deprived backgrounds
Free schools are
disproportionately located in areas with a shortage of places and areas of
deprivation. The vast majority (84%) of the schools approved today are in areas
most in need of more school places, while 50% will be in the 30% most deprived
communities in England. All but 3 of the 38 schools intend to open their doors
in September next year.
Education Secretary Michael Gove
said:
Free schools are giving
thousands of children from ordinary backgrounds the kind of education
previously reserved for the rich and the lucky.
Thanks to our free school
programme, many more parents now have a new school in their neighbourhood
offering high standards and tough discipline. Free schools put teachers - not
bureaucrats and politicians - in the driving seat, as they are the ones who
know their pupils best.
As part of our long-term
economic plan, we are determined to deliver the best schools and skills for our
young people, and free schools are achieving exactly that.
Around 24,000 pupils are already
attending free schools just 3 years after the first school opened its doors.
Sixty-nine per cent of open free schools have been rated ‘good’ or
‘outstanding’ under the new Ofsted framework, compared to 64% of
all schools. Free schools are twice as likely to be ‘outstanding’,
with 21% of open free schools rated ‘outstanding’ compared to 10%
of all schools under the same framework.
Notes to
editors
- There are 174 open free schools
and following today’s announcement there are a further 157 in the
pipeline. When full, they will provide around 175,000 extra school
places.
- Of the 38 free school
applications approved by the Secretary of State for Education:
- 18 are primary
schools
- 8 are secondary
schools
- 7 are all-through
schools
- 5 are 16 to 19
schools
- 34 are mainstream
schools
- 2 are for alternative
provision
- 2 are special
schools
- Due to the popularity of free
schools, the Department for Education has changed the application process to
allow parents and other groups 3 opportunities per year to submit proposals,
compared to just 1 previously. Not only does this provide flexibility to
proposers to submit their application at the time that suits them best, it also
means the government can consider applications throughout the year. This is the
second wave this academic year. The third application window for this year
closed on 9 May 2014 and the successful applicants will be announced in the
autumn.
- The next application window to
open a free school will open on 6 October 2014.
- See a note on the statistics used.
The full list of free school
proposals approved today is as follows:
- Akaal Primary School,
Derby
- ARK Croydon Primary Academy,
Croydon
- ARK Croydon Secondary Academy,
Croydon
- Belham Free School,
Southwark
- Canary Wharf College 3, Tower
Hamlets
- Chilton - Courtstairs Primary
Free School, Kent
- Crystal Palace Primary School,
Croydon
- Dalston Free Primary School,
Hackney
- Drapers’ Primary School,
Havering
- East Cheshire Youth Achievement
Free School, East Cheshire
- The Edge Academy,
Birmingham
- Elements Primary School,
Barnsley
- Elliott Hudson College,
Leeds
- Hackney New Primary School,
Hackney
- Hackney Wick Academy,
Hackney
- Harris Chafford Hundred
Secondary Free School, Thurrock
- Hoe Valley Free School,
Surrey
- Hunsley Primary, East Riding of
Yorkshire
- Kilburn Free Primary School,
Brent
- Kingston Community School,
Kingston
- LIPA Sixth-Form College,
Liverpool
- Luton Girls’ Academy,
Luton
- The Mendip School ,
Somerset
- Perry Beeches - The Primary
School I, Birmingham
- Perry Beeches V - The Free
School, Birmingham
- Perry Beeches VI - The Free
School, Birmingham
- Polam Hall School,
Darlington
- Powerlist Post 16 Leadership
College, Lambeth
- Richmond Bridge Primary School,
Richmond upon Thames
- Richmond upon Thames College
Free School, Richmond upon Thames
- Sidney Stringer Primary Academy,
Coventry
- St Mary’s CE Primary
School, Hertfordshire
- STEM Academy Croydon
Gateway, Croydon
- Surbiton Primary School,
Kingston
- Temple Learning Academy,
Leeds
- Twickenham Primary School,
Richmond upon Thames
- Unity Community Primary,
Manchester
- Wolverhampton Vocational
Training Centre, Wolverhampton
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