TWO controversial new Free Schools have been announced in the North-East.

Grindon Hall Free School in Sunderland and Cramlington Village Primary, in Northumberland , are the only two North-East schools to feature on a list of 55 new Free Schools announced by the Department for Education.

Free Schools aim to achieve higher standards and offer a genuine alternative but have been criticised by teaching unions for diverting resources away from mainstream state schools.

They are funded by the Government but have greater freedoms than local authority-run schools. They are run by teachers – not local councils or Westminster politicians – and have freedom over the length of the school day and term, the curriculum and how they spend their money.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “Every child should have the choice to go to an excellent local school. These new schools have been set up by idealistic people who are determined to give parents the kind of choice that only the rich can currently afford. The first 24 Free Schools are enormously popular and I expect this second wave to be equally successful.”

Many of the schools are in areas where there is a real need – or projected need – for additional places because of population growth.

Grindon Hall Free School, a former Independent school led by the current principal Chris Gray, will join the state sector to create an school with a Christian ethos.

The school has high academic standards and is in Pennywell, Sunderland.

The school’s educational vision is focused upon providing outstanding academic education based around a traditional curriculum, aiming to help children raise their aspirations and to see education as a wholly positive experience.

Cramlington Village Primary was established by a group of parents and is a non-faith primary.