The petition of residents of Newark,

Declares that the Torch Academy Group’s application for a free school in Newark should be accepted; notes that almost 50% of all secondary school pupils, resident in Newark, are currently being educated at schools outside of the town; further that many parents choose to educate their children at schools outside of the town because they are not satisfied by the academic standards routinely achieved by existing secondary schools in the town; further that over 400 children from Newark are currently being educated at Toot Hill school, Bingham, an outstanding Academy run by the Torch Academy Group; believes that the application provides a once in a generation opportunity to establish a benchmark outstanding secondary school in Newark which all parents of the town can have the confidence to send their children to; further notes that in excess of 200 children have already been registered as prospective pupils for Newark Free School; and acknowledges the outstanding leadership of Mr John Tomasevic, Chief Executive Officer of the Torch Academy Group which is leading the application.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to approve the application for the Newark Free School as soon as possible.

And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Robert Jenrick, Official Report, 10 March 2016; Vol. 607, c. 532.]

[P001678]

Observations from The Minister for Schools (Mr Nick Gibb):

The application for Newark Toot Hill Free School has been received and will be assessed against the published criteria along with all others received in free school application wave 11. The assessment criteria cover the education and financial plans for the school, the need for the school and the capacity and capability of the proposers.

Free schools are responsive to local demand for new schools. The Department assesses the need for a free school by taking into account the number of places available in existing local schools, the performance of these schools, and the local authority’s projections for the number of school places needed in future years. The assessment also takes into account how the proposed school will enhance parental choice in the area and how well the proposers have engaged with a cross-section of their local community.

The Department acknowledges the support of the residents of Newark and will take this into account as part of the assessment of the Newark Toot Hill Free School. The outcome of the proposal will be announced as part of the wave 11 announcements.