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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Anna Fazackerley

Flagship free school that cost £35m closes due to lack of pupils

Parkfield school in Dorset viewed through a fence
Parkfield school in Dorset has ‘no natural catchment area’, the trust that runs it admits. Photograph: Karen Robinson/The Observer

One of the government’s vaunted free schools, whose site was beset with so many problems it is estimated to have cost £35m, is set to close, having failed to attract enough pupils.

Free schools were launched by Michael Gove in 2010, when he was education secretary, with the ­promise that they would close the attainment gap in England.

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