Conservative embarrassment as private partnership school in Surrey is 'rescued' by council

5.02.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 2nd May 2010

"One of the first state schools to take on a private partner has had to be "rescued" by the local council after it was deemed inadequate by inspectors, according to Sunday's Observer newspaper.

The move will prove embarrassing for the Conservative party, because Kings International College lies in the constituency being defended by its shadow education minister, Michael Gove, who has been promoting his party's Swedish-style "free schools" policy, which will allow parents, charities and other organisations to set up schools outside local authority control.

Critics said the case in Camberley, Surrey, highlights the problems with the Tory model. "Michael Gove has been talking about what is going on in Sweden; it might be more useful if he looked at what is going on in his own constituency," said David Whitcroft, a local Liberal Democrat councillor."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/02/schools-tories-ofsted-schools-policy-michael-gove