TWO new free schools could be set to open within Brentwood and Ongar after plans for both were given the go-ahead by the Government.

The Grove House School, a specialist school for pupils aged nine to 19 with speech, language and communication difficulties, will open in Brentwood or Chelmsford. A new secondary school, The Ongar Academy, is also set to open in Ongar.

And the Brentwood and Ongar MP is hopeful both will eventually open in his constituency. He said: "I look forward to how the two new schools will offer new choices to parents in both Brentwood and Ongar."

Two sites have been earmarked for Grove House – Brentwood being one, Chelmsford the other.

The school will be the first state funded school in the country to specialise in accommodating children with speech and language difficulties in the UK.

Founder Sally Lockyer is delighted. She said: "I was hearing about a lot of people who were saying they were having difficulty finding a suitable place at a secondary school.

"It’s fantastic that parents will no longer have to send their children away."

Mr Pickles added: "Grove House School promises to meet a specific demand and I have no doubt it will be of great benefit to many children."