'Rapid action needed' for failing schools - Matthew Hancock

The government has ordered the closure of a failing free school for the first time after education inspectors found standards there unacceptably poor.

The Discovery New School in Crawley, West Sussex, has been told it must close in April next year after failing to make the required improvements.

Skills and enterprise minister Matthew Hancock told BBC News that "rapid action" is needed for failing schools.

"If a school isn't good enough, it's important that we take action quickly, and that is what we've done," he said.