A NEW free school for children in Ongar has been proposed by a campaign group.
School4Ongar comprises local parents and grandparents who have set out to establish a new senior school on land behind the Ongar Leisure Centre, in The Gables.
Ongar has been without a senior school since the closure of the comprehensive school in 1989, which means children have to be bussed to nearby towns for schooling.
A spokesman for School4Ongar said: "Ongar has been growing over recent years and is likely to grow further.
"Yet hundreds of our children are bussed out of Ongar and the surrounding villages every day for their schooling and many thousands more face this daily struggle over the coming years."
Free schools are an initiative from Michael Gove, the Education Secretary.
They are set up by community groups and funded directly by central government.
The schools, which are independent of local authorities, are established as academies and have more control over their curriculum, teachers' pay and school terms.
School4Ongar is proposing the new free school would be funded by developers building new houses in Ongar.
Under the district council's local plan there is scope to build thousands of new homes in Ongar.
"Rather than have the developer running away with the cash, if there's got to be new homes in Ongar then rather than just a new housing estate, it's time we got something back for the community," the spokesman said.
It is proposed the school would need to have four to six forms in each of the five year groups in order to make it viable.
The spokesman added: "We're a small group at the moment and we want to hear from people who are interested in our idea.
"We will then bring interested parties together, co-ordinate meetings and hopefully get the ball rolling."
Leaflets will be distributed at the town's primary schools.
School4Ongar is calling for parents and anybody else interested in their campaign to register their interest at www.school4ongar.com