Education secretary Michael Gove argues that "children are being failed by fundamental flaws in our education system". He claims his new free schools - which are state-funded and independent of local authority control - will address this.
The first 24 free schools opened last week. We sent student Nathan Akehurst along to the West London free school in Hammersmith to meet the school's founder, rightwing newspaper columnist Toby Young.
We also ask staff and pupils at Chiswick Community school how they think the opening of the West London free school will affect them.
Back in the studio, Hugh Muir is joined by Jeevan Vasagar, the Guardian's education correspondent; Alasdair Smith, national secretary of the Anti Academy Alliance; and Mark Lehain, a teacher who set up Kempston school, a free school that's just opened in Bedford.
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