THE couple behind a bid to open a free school on Scartho Top have been forced to shelve the plans for 12 months.

Since November, Christa and Graham Horrell, of Taylors Avenue, Cleethorpes, have been working on a proposal to open the Coast School for Active Learning (CAL) – a Free School catering for children aged four to 11.

As reported, they have said that CAL would teach traditional subjects and have expressive dance and speech choirs.

It would also put particular emphasis on working with parents, making pupils aware of their community and environment, and making children more internationally aware.

The Department of Education has said that Free School applications which are likely to be successful this year will need to have prospective pupils already signed up to the point of oversubscription.

For the Horrell's application, they would need to have least 75 children already signed up, a figure of which the couple say they are "significantly short".

And so, after taking expert advice, they have taken the difficult decision to defer their application for a year.

Mrs Horrell, who has worked at various schools across the region, said: "This has not been an easy decision to take.

"We understand that it will be a disappointment to many people who were looking for something different for the children of North East Lincolnshire as they start their education in 2013.

"But, as we have previously explained, the Department for Education is very clear on its guidance for public support for this latest round of Free Schools.

"They expect that any schools approved this year will have prospective pupils signed up to the point of oversubscription.

"For us, that would mean at least 75 pupils and we are significantly short of that number.

"Having taken expert advice, we have therefore decided that the most positive way forward is to defer our application by 12 months.

"During this period, more homes will be built at Scartho Top and we will have a larger population to draw from."

Mrs Horrell added that the couple's determination to open the Coast School remains "undiminished", pledging that they would be using the additional time to strengthen their application.

"We will add to our team, increase our marketing efforts and prepare a strong application for 2014," she said.

"We have been working with a number of organisations and individuals in progressing our application to date, not least amongst these is the New Schools Network.

"All of these people have pledged their continued support through our revised schedule."

Find out more

For more information on the Coast School for Active Learning (CAL), visit www.coastschool.co.uk