Ministers have paused plans to open 44 new state schools in England, including three sixth-form colleges backed by Eton, while they review each school’s potential demand and value for money.
The decision will affect mainstream secondary and primary schools that were approved by the previous government using its “free school” application process, introduced by Michael Gove in 2010.
Bridget Phillipson told parliament that she has asked officials to review the schools that had been approved but had not yet opened, excluding new special schools and alternative provision.
The education secretary said: “We will look at whether [the schools] meet a need for places in their local area and offer value for taxpayers’ money. We will also take into account whether projects would provide a distinctive curriculum and any impact on existing local providers.
“Our priority is to ensure children thrive in education, whatever type of school they are in – including free schools. Capacity varies from place to place, so we will continue to open new schools where they are needed.”
The Department for Education said more details on the school projects affected and the scope of the review would be published “in due course”.
Among those in the pipeline are three sixth forms proposed as a partnership between Eton college and the Star Academies trust, in Dudley, Middlesbrough and Oldham, with their opening pencilled in for late 2026.
A spokesperson for the partnership said: “Eton and Star are totally committed to the Eton Star partnership in the long term and its vision of working to improve social mobility for young people across the country. We have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline.”
Phillipson noted that a number of free schools opened by the Conservatives had resulted in wasted funding, citing figures quoted by the National Audit Office that mainstream free schools opening between 2015 and 2021 would create 57,500 unfilled places.
Phillipson suggested that any savings would be put towards “improving the deteriorating condition of our existing schools and colleges”.
Under the previous government the free school programme was to approve proposals to open new schools in areas of perceived need. Initially, several schools were proposed by community groups or organisations, but the vast majority of applications have come from existing academy trusts looking to expand.
England’s pupil numbers are expected to shrink by 12% in the next decade, mainly due to the declining birthrate. As a result, local authorities in London and other parts of the country are more concerned with closing schools, especially primaries, than opening new ones.
Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said: “We know this is frustrating for school trusts who have typically put years of work into the application process. However, it is important to note that this is a review of the 44 centrally delivered, mainstream projects. We need to understand more about the review process.”
