Charter schools have been big news in the United States for quite some time now and it appears that the concept is spreading across the Atlantic to catch the interest of educators and parents in the United Kingdom now. In the UK, this type of school is being referred to as a free school and it is now going from just a potential idea to actually happening for students and parents who wish to choose this concept. The Fall season of 2011 will see the first wave of these schools being opened and the Government is now inviting families to apply for the schools. The way these free schools were talked about during the election era made many believe that the concept is about parents being able to set up schools, but critics say that the situation may not play out this way in reality. Groups of teachers who want to be able to use their particular skill sets and level of passion to affect inner city areas where students face greater challenges are one of the biggest and most interested parties involved. More than 700 applications have so far come through and of these, more than half are from teachers.
The Government is making an effort to present the concept as a means of improving the opportunities for children who come from the UK’s most impoverished families and it is a chance to fund an escape route for middle class families who do not want to be in the school system where they live.
