PLANS for a free agricultural school have received a positive response from prospective parents, Hadlow College claims.

The college wants to open a school for 11 to 16-year-olds focusing on land-based and rural activities, as well as offering more traditional GCSE subjects.

The Hadlow Rural Community School, as it would be known, would be located at the college site and, if approved by the Government, will open in September 2013.

Free schools are state funded but are free from local authority control and are in charge of their own finances.

Around 80 prospective parents attended a series of consultations in Tonbridge, Maidstone and Kings Hill, where they quizzed the college's vice principal, Lynda Brown, on the idea.

Mrs Brown said: "It was well supported and we have had positive feedback about the need for the free school. About 40 people said they would put the school down as a first choice."

Pupils will be taught the key GCSE subjects including English, maths, IT and science, languages and humanities, with an environmental perspective.

The curriculum will also involve practical classes to help children discover skills they may not otherwise develop in the mainstream school system.

"It's an alternative choice for parents and children at the age of 11 to be educated in a completely different way with a much stronger element of practical skills," Mrs Brown said.

"They'll gain qualifications that will enable them to be really successful in the vocational area, finding the skills they have and building them up to a higher level."

The initial intake would be 30 students, who would be enrolled from the local area as a priority.

Hadlow College will now submit its bid to the Department of Education and will be notified by July whether the Government has approved the plans.