A free school which was going to be set up with the objective of preventing young people getting embroiled in the gang culture in London has been knocked back by the government.

Part of the plans of the Diaspora High School in Lewisham was going to be a compulsory three months' work experience on reaching leaving age. This was to prevent students going straight from the classroom to the streets and the whole initiative had been backed by Cambridge University and 50 local employers.

It was the brainchild of two London teachers Anne Broni and Kay Johnston, who explained to the Independent the school was going to be co-educational and open to all.

Following the rejection, the pair sent an open letter to education secretary Michael Gove, stating their proposal had been greeted with "derision" by the Department for Education (DfE).

The teachers sought a judicial review of the decision-making process, but this was called off when the DfE said it would be willing to have further negotiations. A resubmission was made but the organisers were then told their project had financial planning of "limited quality" despite being backed by a successful global education company. 

Ms Johnston and Ms Broni were also angered by the inclusion of a statement in the brief prepared by the DfE for the judicial review which under 'reason for rejection', said: "I recommend that this school not be approved. This is not a school for the local community. It is for the black community. The proposers are Afro Caribbean and all their mentors are black."

The organisers responding by saying this is wrong and both the mentors and intake are multicultural.

"We know how to teach, we share a desire to see children from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed beyond school and we believe our vision is realistic," added Ms Johnston.

As someone looking for a teaching job in London, do you believe that this school should have gained approval? Let us know your thoughts.