Express & Star

More places for pupils as Wolverhampton free school bid backed

Hundreds more places for pupils will be created at Wolverhampton's prestigious Royal School after plans for it to become a 'free' school were backed.

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Governors have announced that the Department for Education has approved its application with a provisional opening this September.

The move will see places more than doubled over the next five years to 1,000 in total.

It will also mean the fees, as high as £20,000 a year, will be dropped as the school will be funded by the government.

Headmaster Mark Heywood said: "The remarkable interest in the school since its application was announced is testimony to the significant demand for our distinctive educational offer, and this very positive decision will enable the school to move forward with its immediate and wider community and make the requisite plans for our future.

"We are extremely proud of the staff at The Royal School, all of whom have been fully behind our Free School application.

"We intend to build on their existing strength and add to our existing expertise, enabling the School to extend the curriculum further. We have introduced a new faculty and new 'house' system to the school and this is working very well for both teachers and pupils. As a free independent school all staff will be expected to teach to the highest standards as well as participating fully in leading the wider extra-curricular life of the school.

"We look forward to an exciting time ahead and to a controlled expansion of our pupil numbers as we extend our unique educational and personal development opportunity to the children and young people in the area."

The school is non-selective and will remain so.

Boarding will also be kept and pupils will continue to be accepted from other countries until the end of their courses.

Yesterday the Conservatives announced plans to open hundreds of new free schools across England by 2020 under a major expansion of the policy.

Free schools can be set up by community groups including parents, charities or teachers.

Wolverhampton's first free school was the Sikh-ethos Anand Primary School in Great Brickkiln Street.

After a difficult first year the organisation that set it up, the Wolverhampton Sangat Education Trust, folded and handed over the school to the Birmingham-based Nishkam School Trust.

It is now run as the Nishkam Primary School.

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