THE organisers behind the two free-school bids for Swindon have said they are pleased with how their interviews at the Department of Education have gone.

To combat a future shortage of secondary school places in Swindon, New College and the Diocese of Bristol Academies Trust have put in bids for funding to open schools in September next year.

Both applications passed the first hurdle and the organisers were asked to attend interviews in Westminster this month to make their case.

They now face an anxious wait to find out if the bids were successful, having been told a decision will be made by the end of March.

The New College team, who will be focused on North Swindon, went down on Monday and Graham Taylor, the New College principal, believes they made a strong case.

He said: “I feel that they rather like what we had to say. It wasn’t a case of good cop, bad cop and they asked us questions on a variety of topics.

“I came away feeling as though we had done everything we could. It is now a case of waiting until we hear something. From a teaching perspective we are ready to move forward if we get the go-ahead.

“I think we have demonstrated a clear need for the school and there has been fantastic support from parents, local businesses and the council.”

The site and construction of the school if the bid is approved will be down the Department of Education.

New College was first approached by North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson to bid for the school and he met the team in London on Monday.

He said: “I feel we have a very strong bid. There is a clear demand for the school in 2016 and it has the full support of the community and the council. New College has the experience when it comes to developing new facilities.

“I have also spoken with the minister and was reassured that the bids are not decided on a geographical basis so neither bid will influence the other.”

The Diocese of Bristol Academies Trust had their interview earlier in January for a bid which will be in the southern or central areas of the town and was pleased with how it went.

John Swainston, of the trust, said: “We all felt it was a positive interview and we were able to answer all the questions put before us. Many of the pupils who will go to our school are from houses which are not yet built but we showed them the building plans for Swindon and the Wichelstowe area so they understood the demand will be there.”