ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by exploring the 'original free schools' and then uses the free school as a lens through which to assess the 'free' nature of the newer ones. It argues that the use of 'Free Schools' for the newer ones is a misnomer or a 'red herring'. In the 1960s and 1970s, amid concerns about the failure of the tripartite system and an increasing awareness of social segregation brought about by the existence of grammar schools, a small number of innovative new schools opened in England and Scotland. The new Free Schools are part of a market-driven educational landscape, one in which students and parents are frequently described as 'consumers' or 'customers' with the power to exercise 'choice' within a 'competitive' environment. In the initial rhetoric on the purpose of Free Schools, the Conservative Party frequently made clear links to their role in improving social mobility and reducing social inequalities.
