BARRING a political earthquake, a new free school should appear on the North- East educational map next year.

The Durham Free School project was given the goahead in July when Prime Minister David Cameron backed the idea.

That was an important step forward for the scheme, but hard work is still ahead of the group of parents and teachers behind the idea.

One of the prime movers is David Glover, from High Shincliffe, near Durham City, a lawyer and father of two young girls and one boy.

Mr Glover, a director of the Durham Free School, is excited at the prospect of setting up a new, free, non-selective, state-funded school to the South-East of Durham City, an area where the group say there is a growing need for a new secondary school.

“If you look at the map, there is a big gap to the southeast of Durham in terms of secondary schools.

“When Durham Johnston School was on a split site, we used to have a site in Whinney Hill, but that has now closed.”

Mr Glover points out that there are several excellent primary schools in the area.

But, when the time comes to move up to secondary school, youngsters in the area have to travel to schools on the northern side of the city.

“There just isn’t a single secondary school in this area.

“It is causing some of the peer groups of children to break up and go to different schools, which we don’t think is a good thing for the local communities where we live,”

he added.

Mr Glover is aware that the free school concept – which involves breaking the links with the local education authority – has been attacked by several teaching unions as undermining other local schools.

But he cannot see why anyone in the area would object.

“The idea is that it will be a local school, open to all local children.

“You are not allowed to select on ability, so it will be open to all,” he said.

While the school’s website states that it will have a Christian ethos, Mr Glover rejects any suggestion that the new school will embrace controversial doctrines such as Creationism, an allegation made against some free schools in other parts of the country.

“It has got a Christian ethos, but it is not affiliated to any church.

“There are a mixture of churchgoers and non-churchgoers.”

Apart from finding a suitable headteacher and premises for the new school, Mr Glover is keen to reassure local families that it will teach “pretty much” the national curriculum and make local youngsters proud of their area.

“If you look at our school badge on the website, you will see a miner’s lamp. We are very proud of our Durham heritage, the mining, the engineering and so much more.

“We want youngsters to know where they are from and their history,” he added.

The school – which is due to open in September next year, is due to start with about 60 pupils.

“We want to build it up, year by year. We want to have a sixth form, but we also want to keep it small, with a maximum of 840 pupils,” said Mr Glover.

For more information, call 0191-375-5760 or visit durham freeschool.org