FREE SCHOOLS (3)

I have never been convinced by the idea that importing the Scandinavian concept of free schools into the U.K. will solve the latter's educational problems. Institutional changes need to take account of the culture in which they will operate; and, as I said earlier, there are major cultural differences between Denmark and Sweden on the one hand and the U.K. on the other.

The first 24 free schools started two years ago, and they have now been through their first inspections by Ofsted, the regulator. Four passed as outstanding, fourteen as good, five needed improvement and one was inadequate. For supporters of free schools, 75% getting good or better is a great result. Sceptics, on the other hand, point out that one would expect the first schools to be run by people with a lot of drive and funding, so 25% getting poor or worse is worrying.

This is an argument that is not going to go away. More schools will do badly - a Muslim one in Derby has just been classed as dysfunctional, for instance - and that will put pressure on politicians. Already there are rumours that the Liberal Democrat members of the Government coalition are unhappy with the whole free school experiment, and will try to distance themselves from it, when they write their manifesto for the next general election.

The argument will continue, because British people do not generally agree how their children should be educated. Free schools are a plaster designed to patch up this wound. The wound is too deep, in my view.

Walter Blotscher