PLANS have been submitted to the Department for Education to establish a school for excluded pupils.

The proposed free school will be located at the former Roecroft Lower School site in Stotfold and the existing Kingsland site in Dunstable.

Free schools are state-funded and set up in response to what people say they need in order to improve education for children in their community.

The school will offer education for up to 140 pupils who have been excluded from school, and will offer personalised support to help them to succeed.

The bid, developed by a consortium of 10 upper schools in Central Bedfordshire, is backed by Central Bedfordshire Council.

Cllr Mark Versallion, the council’s executive member for children’s services, said: “I am hopeful that the bid will be successful. We feel it is a very strong proposal, which is supportive of current Government policy.

“We have shown our strong support for the bid by providing the funding for the current Pupil Referral Unit and two sites to accommodate the new school.

“It is a demonstration of our commitment as a council, and that of both upper and middle schools, to raise standards and ensure the very best educational opportunities for some of the most vulnerable pupils in Central Bedfordshire.”

Nigel Croft, chairman of the bid and headteacher of Redborne Upper School in Ampthill, said: “Our bid puts Central Bedfordshire Council and its 10 upper schools at the forefront of Government thinking.

“The new facility will provide for our presently permanently excluded pupils and give them the appropriate pathways and curriculum to succeed in either employment or further training.”