New schools bring total number of free school places to 175,000
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.