The site of a new free secondary school has been proposed between Walton and Molesey.

Heathside Walton-on-Thames would occupy new buildings, to be built at the junction of Terrace Road and Waterside Drive, to the north of the roundabout.

ElmWey Learning Trust, which runs Heathside School Weybridge, applied to run the school in spring 2016, and Prime Minister David Cameron announced the approval just before he left office in summer.

The trust identified a “great need” for new school places in the area to cater for the large rise of pupils in the next few years.

ElmWey’s executive principal, Anne Cullum, who leads Heathside School Weybridge and will oversee the new school, said: “This is good news for the Borough of Elmbridge and excellent news for the local community, in particular parents and children. We know there is both a pressing need and desire for high quality secondary school places in the locality and our new school, Heathside Walton-on-Thames, will strive to meet this need.”

The Education and Skills Funding Agency, part of the Department for Education, takes the lead in finding the site and developing the necessary buildings for new free schools.

In recent months, it has carried out extensive work to identify a suitable site, leading to this announcement.

Mrs Cullum said: “This is a clear sign of the project moving forward and reflects both the commitment of the Department for Education to the school and the significant amount of work carried out by the ESFA in sourcing the site.”

Now, ElmWey will work with the ESFA and discuss with Elmbridge Council and the community before submitting a planning application.