Three “elite” sixth forms proposed by a partnership between Eton College and Star Academies are among 15 new free school bids given the go-ahead by the government this week.
The Eton Star 16 to 19 free schools will open in Dudley, Teesside and Oldham, with the government hoping to push up education standards and get more pupils from the north and midlands into Oxbridge.
But the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) has warned the move could lead to existing “high-performing” provision being “unnecessarily disrupted”.
Eton, the £50,000-a-year private school that educated the likes of Boris Johnson, David Cameron and princes William and Harry, will provide financial and extra-curricular support to the new sixth forms through its partnership with Star.
