THE plan to base the curriculum of a new free school on the Scottish system is a brave and innovative one that should be investigated.

However, we have a growing feeling that someone — and it’ll have to be the Government — needs to take a global overview when looking at all the plans and schemes currently shooting around Oxfordshire’s education system.

We have free school plans and moves from some of our larger schools to ditch county council control and go for academy status.

The backers of the new free school are clearly intelligent people with an education background who feel the Scottish system would benefit potential pupils.

And if individual schools really feel they can improve the education given to their charges through the academy system then that is a worthwhile pursuit.

But what must be guarded against is weakening the local education authority to the point where it is no longer big enough to properly function.

Multi-tiered systems in any field are always beneficial for those near the top.

It is the ones struggling at the bottom that suffer.

Overall, education must be singular enough in its delivery to ensure that no child gets left behind — no matter the good intentions of all involved.