Government announces new 'free schools' and sixth forms for Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester will benefit from 55 new 'Education Investment Areas' (EIAs) across the country which will create 14,000 places in 75 new schools, the government has said.

Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford and Tameside are among areas which will be prioritised for new school places including for children from disadvantaged areas or kids with special education needs, the Department for Education (DfE) has announced.

Although the number of new schools and places to be created in each area were not disclosed, a spokeswoman for the DfE said they were in addition to the 22 new schools and 19,000 extra places announced by the then education secretary Damian Hinds in June 2019.

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Then, the government trumpeted more than 4,500 school places were to be created in five new schools in Salford, Wigan, Oldham and Rochdale.

The teachers' union welcomed the announcement but said the government's plans would fail without a better deal for its members.

In the latest announcement, the government promised 75 new 'free schools' and sixth forms, designed to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds, across the country to 'level up' opportunities in education. Free schools are funded by the government but they don't have to follow the national curriculum and aren't run by local education authorities.

The six Greater Manchester EIAs have been chosen as 'outcomes for pupils are currently weakest', according to the DfE. The first of up to 60 'special and alternative provision free schools' across England will also begin opening from September 2025, creating approximately 4,500 new places, said the government.

So-called 'alternative