Crawley free school parent: 'We haven't been given enough time'

A parent whose children attend a failing free school which has been ordered to close by the government says that the school has not been given enough time to implement changes.

The Discovery New School in Crawley in West Sussex had been put in special measures in May, after education standards were found to be so poor there was a risk children would leave unable to read and write properly.

Now the Schools Minister, Lord Nash, has written to governors saying that the school must close next April.

It is the first time a free school has been ordered to close.

Emily Leppenwell, who has two children at the school, said they should have been given more time to turn things around.