New schools set up by parents, teachers, charities and businesses
Free schools are a type of academy school established under the Academies Act 2010. Like all academies, they are state-funded and independently run — outside local authority control. The key distinction is that free schools are new schools, created from scratch by groups such as parents, teachers, charities, universities, businesses, or faith groups, rather than being converted from existing schools.
Over 600 free schools have opened in England since 2011. They operate similarly to other academies: funded directly by the government, with freedoms over curriculum and staffing, inspected by Ofsted. They tend to be newer, smaller, and more likely to adopt innovative models. University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and Studio Schools are specialist variants of the free school model.
Admission to free schools must be broadly non-selective in terms of academic ability. They must participate in the local authority's coordinated admissions process. Most free schools use oversubscription criteria giving priority to siblings, looked-after children, and those in a defined catchment area.
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English Education System
English Education System
