Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the new Swan School in Oxford to be signed off by his Department as ready to accept applications.

​We are committed to a free schools programme which aims to deliver high standards, choice and innovation.

I am delighted to confirm that my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education agreed in principle, on 27 March 2019, to enter into a funding agreement with the River Learning Trust (RLT) for the Swan School to open, in Oxford, in September 2019. My officials are working closely with the RLT and its legal advisers to finalise the funding agreement, which we expect to agree shortly.

To minimise uncertainty for parents of the Swan School’s prospective pupils for September, my officials informed the chief executive of the trust of the Secretary of State’s decision on 28 March, and we agreed with the headteacher of the Swan School that these parents could be informed.