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19 April 2026

Tag: free schools

The 18th century forerunners of the Michaela School model

Last weekend, The Sunday Times published a lengthy article about Michaela, the north London free school that styles itself as “the strictest school” in the country. As one of its teachers tweeted: “When we say strict, we mean strict.” The rights and wrongs of this austere approach are not the concerns of this column. What […]

New free schools chief resets Cameron’s target

The government would need to triple the average number of free schools opened each year to meet higher targets for 2020 demanded by Toby Young, the newly appointed director of the New Schools Network. The journalist and author was appointed last month to lead the government-funded charity after its former chief, Nick Timothy, left to […]

Multi-academy trusts 6 times more likely to be named after men than women

Multi-academy trusts are six times more likely to be named after men than women, a Schools Week investigation has revealed. Analysis of the names given to multi-academy trusts (MATs) show 63 are named after men while only 10 are named after a woman – and none after a female MAT founder. Free schools, opened since […]

Harris plans vocational courses-only school (with GCSE resits)

One of the country’s largest academy trusts is to open a 16-19 free school offering only vocational courses and GCSE resits. The Harris Professional Skills Sixth Form (HPS6F), a standalone free school in Croydon, south London, will offer 170 places for professional skills course, with another 60 places for students retaking GCSEs before progressing on […]

25 free schools delayed each year

Nearly 25 free schools have delayed opening every year for the past three years, show figures released to Schools Week under freedom of information laws. And most of those delays are because of problems finding a suitable site, prompting the Department for Education (DfE) to overhaul how it awards opening dates for new projects. A […]

25% of Cameron’s ‘landmark’ free schools delayed

More than a quarter of free schools approved by David Cameron under a “landmark” wave of applications had to delay opening this year, Schools Week can reveal. Figures released under Freedom of Information laws show at least 14 of the 49 wave 8 free schools announced last year pushed back opening their doors, originally scheduled […]

EXCLUSIVE: 97 independent schools failed test to convert to free schools

Nearly 100 independent schools were rebuffed from opening a free school in the first wave of applications in 2010, Schools Week can exclusively reveal, throwing doubt on the government’s new proposals to encourage private schools into the state sector. Figures obtained by Schools Week show that 103 independent schools applied to join the first wave, but […]

Free school GCSE results reveal highs … and lows

Free schools with fledgling GCSE cohorts have hit highs – and lows – in their overall performance in this summer’s exams. West London free school, Bristol free school, Dixons Kings academy and Tauheedal boys’ school all posted their first results today, having opened as free schools in 2011 and 2012. At Tauheedal 95 per cent […]