If I can keep my mouth shut long enough, we will build the Eton of the state sector

As readers of this column will know, I’ve spent the last year leading the efforts of a 250-strong group of local parents to start a new state secondary school in west London. One of the toughest things about this crusade is constantly having to bite my tongue. As a journalist, I used to delight in being able to say whatever I pleased and to hell with the consequences. Now I have to be more circumspect. One ill-judged phrase and the whole enterprise could be derailed.

I’m often asked what sort of school we’re trying to set up and the answer I want to give — but am reluctant to because it could harm our cause — is the Eton of the state sector. That plays into the hands of our critics, who often accuse us of trying to secure a private education for our children at the taxpayers’ expense. It doesn’t help that Latin is going to be compulsory at our school for the first three years or that the purpose of the curriculum will be to provide children with a classic liberal education.