A SCHOOL in Hartlebury aims to be Worcestershire’s first “free school”.

The New Elizabethan School, which currently offers specialist provision for gifted and talented pupils and for children with ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and high functioning autism, is taking its place at the forefront of the county’s “free school” movement.

An application has been submitted to the Department for Education and the school is hoping for approval to move on to the business planning stage.

It is planned that the Worcestershire Free School will see its first intake in September (2011).

Annabel Goodman, principal, said that if successful, parents will be able to access the school’s expertise for children struggling in current placements or who are looking for help in overcoming learning difficulties, without having to fund the place privately.

She said: “In many cases the fees required to meet children’s needs in the private sector are a major barrier to learning and a huge hurdle for parents who are forced to make sacrifices.

“The Free School represents a fantastic opportunity for parents who will have the option of sending their children to receive the specialist input they so desperately need and which they fail to secure in a ‘mainstream’ setting.”

Ms Goodman bought the former Hartlebury School when it was threatened with closure in January 2007, because she had been so pleased with the education if offered her dyslexic son Jacob.

She said: “I hope the Free School will become a beacon in the county for children with special educational needs, specific learning difficulties and those whose needs arise out of being on the gifted and talented register.”

Parents who are interested in sending their children to the Worcestershire Free School can register their interest and apply for a place at worcestershirefreeschool.org The school will continue to offer free diagnostic testing for dyslexia at regular intervals, with the next session on February 5.

“Free schools” will operate free from the control of the local education authority (LEA) and have the status of academies.

Funding for “free schools” will be drawn directly from the government so that all places will be funded centrally.