Swindon: New primary and academy acquire free school status

Two of the six schools planned for an expansion on the edge of Swindon have been successful in their bids to be free schools.

The schools in the New Eastern Villages will be directly funded by the government and not under local authority control.

Between them Lotmead Primary School and Great Stall East Academy will take pupils from reception to 16-years-old.

The £94m cost of setting them up will also be met by central government.

Free schools are funded by the government and are not run by the local authority - so they have more control over how they organise themselves.

Lotmead Primary is expected to open in September and will take two forms at entry, serving about 1,250 homes in the Lotmead and Upper Lotmead villages in the centre of the expansion area.

Great Stall East Academy will be located south of the A420 and railway line and it will be run by United Learning Trust.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: "We want to make more good school places available to families and these new free schools will bring brand new opportunities to young people."

Swindon Borough Council has been driving the New Eastern Villages expansion

The leader of the authority, Jim Robbins, said: "This is fantastic news for Swindon and a real boost for the New Eastern Villages development."

Other schools planned for the New Eastern Villages are Lower Lotmead Primary, Great Stall West Primary, Rowborough Primary and Foxbridge Primary.

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