The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition has now announced its criteria for establishing ‘free schools’, which, while benefiting from state funding, will not be controlled by local authorities.

Intended to combine quality education with flexibility over the curriculum, free schools may well appeal to relocating parents who, in the current economic climate, are finding it a struggle to pay school fees in the independent sector.

Groups interested in setting up a free school will have to show demand from parents, the school's aims, curriculum, and teaching methods, and possible sites. Changes to the planning system will allow schools to be set up in a variety of buildings, such as shops and offices.

So far, more than 700 groups, half of which are composed of teachers, have expressed an interest in starting a free school.

Education secretary Michael Gove believes free schools will drive up standards in areas where local-authority-run schools are failing to provide high-quality education. Opponents say the new system will cause confusion and result in schools that continue to be run by the local authority missing out.