A new free school announced by David Cameron in his final act as Prime Minister is to be built in between Walton and Molesey.

From yesterday: David Cameron announces plans to build free school in Elmbridge in final act as Prime Minister

The provisionally named Elmbridge Free School was approved by Mr Cameron yesterday during a visit to Reach Academy in Feltham, along with 30 other new free schools across the country.

Plans for the school were orchestrated by the ElmWey Learning Trust, which operates Heathside School in Weybridge, and is headed by the school's principal Anne Cullum.

The trust officially submitted the proposals to the Department for Education in March in response to a growing shortage of secondary places in the area, where a demand for a further 200 secondary school places is expected by 2022.

The trust had hoped for the school to be in either Walton or Molesey.

But they announced this morning that the school, which is expected to teach up to 900 students aged 11 to 16 and begin its first intake in September 2019, will be called Heathside, Walton-on-Thames.

A statement said the two Heathside schools "will work together so that the new school benefits from expert support as it grows to full capacity".

Mrs Cullum said: "Our vision is to create an outstanding school to serve the local community, a school where academic outcomes are excellent for all our students.

"We are pleased that our bid has been granted after rigorous scrutiny and we now look forward to turning our plans into reality.

"We've thought a lot about our school name but it will be an even distance between Walton and Molesey."

The school will be state-funded, non-selective and non-faith based, according to the trust.

Mrs Cullum said the trust had eyed up a potential site for the school, adding that planning applications would be submitted soon, but declined to disclose where.

From March: Walton or Molesey?: Battle looms as plans submitted for new free school in Elmbridge

A poll in March by the Surrey Comet found 63 per cent of voters wanted the new school to be in Molesey, compared to 31 per cent for Walton and 6 per cent for other areas in Elmbridge.

Former Molesey councillor and parent Steve Bax previously said: "I have always thought it rather unsatisfactory that we are without our own secondary school and parents have to bus or drive their children to Esher or Hersham to go to school, adding to the congestion on the roads."

Speaking yesterday, Mr Cameron said: “Free schools have been at the heart of this government’s education reforms which have seen more than 1.4 million more children in good or outstanding schools since 2010.

“More than 300 have been created since I became Prime Minister and 200 are set to open, meaning tens of thousands more young people, many from disadvantaged areas, finally have a choice of a good education that helps them reach their full potential.”