Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, excluding new schools opened following a competition under section 6A of the Education Act 2011, what was their target for the number of free schools to be opened in the 2018–19 school year; how many opened for the start of the September 2018 term; and how many they expect to be opened during the remainder of the 2018–19 school year.

All new schools are classified as free schools, established either through the central or ‘presumption route’, the latter being those opening under section 6A of the Education Act (2011). There is no target for the number of free schools to be opened during the 2018-19 school year. In September 2018, 53 free schools, 36 of which were through the central route, and one university technical college were opened. A further four central route schools are currently forecast to open in the current school year.