Blair's school pledge

Up to 60 new independent state schools are being planned for London under a radical drive by Tony Blair to revolutionise education.

The target, part of a scheme to set up 200 "city academies" nationwide, has been set personally by the Prime Minister to woo parents before the general election.

The controversial academies are partly funded by private money but provide free education at what Mr Blair believes is a higher standard than ordinary comprehensives.

Only 12 have opened but Downing Street has been impressed by the results. Plans for more academies will be unveiled by Education Secretary-Charles Clarke when he announces the Government's longawaited five-year education plan.

Mr Clarke and Schools Minister David Miliband were said to be concerned the ?7billion cost of 200 new schools would take cash away from other parts of the state sector.

But Mr Blair believes some schools are so bad that a fresh start is the only way forward.

The academies, in some cases partly run and funded by private schools, were designed to offer inner-city children a chance of a better education. But Downing Street thinks they can also attract disillusioned middle-class parents.

Labour has struggled to make an impact on secondary education, particularly in London. One in four parents in the capital fail to get their children into their first choice of state school, nearly three times the national average. London parents are twice as likely to use private schools as those elsewhere.

The target of 60 new academies would outflank the Tories' election pledge yesterday to create 30 new schools in the capital.