Flagship free school deluged as nine pupils apply for every place

A flagship free school in Hammersmith has been swamped with applications only five months after it opened, with nine children vying for every place.

A total of 1,072 children are competing for 120 places at the West London Free School, set up by a group led by writer Toby Young.

The figures mean the school is even more popular than top state schools such as Lady Margaret's and the London Oratory, where Tony Blair sent his children.

Mr Young said the news was " fantastic", describing it as "a vote of confidence from local people".

He said: "One of the objections opponents made against the free school was it wouldn't be wanted - no parents would want it - and that hasn't been the case."

Among the key characteristics the school aspires to are compulsory Latin up to the age of 14, strong discipline and small class sizes.

The school's Latin motto is "Sapere aude" which means "dare to be wise". It shares its uniform supplier with Eton and pupils are put into houses named after Ancient Greek city-states. Mr Young said he believed that the school's ethos was crucial in attracting parents.

He said: "I think the idea of a classical, liberal education whereby children study a core of academically rigorous subjects complemented by lots of music, art, drama and sport really appeals to a lot of parents.

"The popularity of West London Free School demonstrates if you give parents a choice between a trendy, progressive school and a traditional, academically rigorous one, parents will opt for the latter."

And Mr Young, best known for his book How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, rejected claims the figures were inflated by middle-class parents no longer willing to pay the fees for private education.

"If you look at the first cohort of 120 pupils, only one of them came from a fee paying school and I expect that will be the case with the next cohort.

"I was actually disappointed by how few pupils from fee-paying schools have applied. They don't seem to have yet made the leap."