Chancellor George Osborne has announced a new funding package for education, which includes an extra £600 million to create 40,000 school places over the next three years in local authorities with the greatest demographic pressures. The package also includes £600 million for 100 new free schools, which will be opened as academies by groups of parents, teachers, charities, businesses, universities, trusts, religious or voluntary groups.
The government hopes that the free schools (which will include specialist maths schools for 16-18 year olds) will help produce the next generation of engineering and science graduates needed for long term economic prosperity.
The academy programme continues to storm ahead with 1,419 academies open in England to date and hundreds more in the pipeline. With the extra funding announced and the Chancellor’s undiluted praise for Mr Gove it is safe to say that the academy programme will not be slowing any time soon.