College slaps income cap on parents

Parents with a joint income above £26,000 will be barred from sending their children to a state sixth-form college planned for the East End of London. The college will be one of the Government's flagship "free" schools, offering places to bright inner-city children to help them to get into elite universities.

It is being proposed by a consortium of five independent schools, including Harrow, and 16 comprehensives in East London which do not have sixth forms. Only pupils with five A* grades at GCSE will be accepted – in line with Oxbridge entry requirements.