"Saving one of the Middle Schools" reason behind free school proposal

Matthew Hancock MP

More information emerged today about the reasons behind the proposal for a free school at Ixworth and Stanton. In response to questions Paula Wade who is MP Matthew Hancock's constituency agent stated:

"Matthew is passionate about saving one of the Middle Schools, and is very pleased with the initial response from parents in the area."

But there is no plan proposed to "save one of the Middle Schools" that I know about. The 9-13 Middle Schools would all close and the proposed Free School is for 11-18 year olds (although most likely 11-16 to start with).

In fairness Paula clarified this later stating:

Matthew’s passion to save ‘one of the Middle Schools’ refers to the continued education of local children in their local community by ensuring one of the middle school sites is redeveloped and remains at the heart of the local community, within the two-tier system the Council is moving towards.

But I think it a shame that the group seem happy to tap into the discontent surrounding the loss of the middle schools to build political support for the free school proposal.

Consequently much of the debate gets bogged down in discussing two tier vs three tier rather then how two tier might be implemented and what part a free school might play in that.

Given that the Free School Group that appears to have been established by Matthew Hancock is still continuing to operate in secrecy it is ironic to hear that last night Matthew appeared on Newsnight talking about the importance of being open.

“The key lesson is when trying to run the Government is that you should be very open about it as well as the goals you are trying to pursue.”

I wonder if Matthew Hancock could suggest that the free school proposers follow this advice and act in an open way making their goals clear.