IF all goes well with an application by the Board of St Anthony's School in Cinderford, it could gain 'free school' status by September 2013, says head teacher Mrs Julie James.

The board of the independent school is currently considering the option of applying to join the Free Schools initiative launched by the Government.

"Free" status for the school would mean an opportunity to broaden the availability of the education on offer and remove the need to charge a fee, the board states.

It adds there would be no lessening of the school's independence and it would retain the strong relationship it has with the Catholic Church and the Franciscan Sisters.

Mrs James said she was optimistic about making the change although there was no way of knowing how successful the bid would be against applications by other schools.

"I think we have put together a very good case proving the Forest of Dean needs a school like this," she said.

The process also involves a site inspection and there would be a lot of legal matters to attend to before the plan went ahead, providing it is approved.

The school wants to hear from parents who are interested in placing their children at St Anthony's. For more details contact the school on [email protected]">[email protected] or visit website http://www.stanthonysschool">www.stanthonysschool. info