Cameron criticises 'coasting' state school

David Cameron has accused a number of state schools in England - particularly in more affluent areas - of "coasting". He vowed to confront failure in education head-on and deliver "real excellence" through greater choice, competition and freedom.In a speech at a new Free School in Norwich, the prime minister said new providers would expose "complacency" and help drive up standards. He also said parents of children who play truant could have benefits cut. "By the end of next year we would have transformed about 150 secondaries and 200 failing primaries into academies," Mr Cameron said. "Today we are considering whether we need to go further and faster. It is not just failing schools we need to tackle; it is coasting schools too, the ones whose results have either flat-lined or they haven't improved as much as they could have done. "More than four out of five state schools in Surrey and Oxfordshire are doing worse than two state schools in relatively deprived parts of inner-London. That must be a wake-up call."     We want to create an education system based on real excellence, with a complete intolerance of failure.”David Cameron He added: "If you can get 70% of children to get five good GCSEs, including English and maths, in parts of inner London, you should be asking why aren't we doing that everywhere in parts of the country that are wealthier like Oxfordshire where I represent." The prime minister also vowed to tackle discipline, saying parents of children who continually misbehave should face "real consequences". "I have asked our social policy review to look into whether we should cut the benefits of those parents whose children constantly play truant," he said. "Yes, this would be a tough measure - but we urgently need to restore order and respect in the classroom and I don't want ideas like this to be off the table." Mr Cameron made the comments at the opening of one of England's first free schools, the Norwich Free School. He said he wanted to see schools like it "replicated many, many times up and down the country". In an interview with BBC political editor Nick Robinson, he also revealed that he wanted his old school Eton College to set up a school in the state sector. Representatives of top public schools met the prime minister and Education Secretary Michael Gove on Thursday in Downing Street to discuss the issue. Critics have called Free Schools, which are state-funded but privately run, socially divisive and unaccountable. The schools are being set up by parents, teachers, faith groups and other organisations. Some Lib Dems have opposed free schools amid fears they could be socially divisive, but Mr Cameron says both parties are behind the scheme. Education ministers recently said they were increasing the minimum standard for schools. By 2015, any secondary school which sees less than half of its students achieve five good GCSEs will be classified as failing. Currently the standard is 30%. Ministers hope new free schools and more academies will give parents more choice and help push standards up elsewhere.