ANOTHER free school is to open in Bolton.

The Olive School, a new Muslim faith primary school, will open in 2016, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced.

It will be run by the Tauheedul Trust, which set up the Eden School for Boys in Bolton and the Tauheedul Islam Girls High School in Blackburn, one of the best performing schools in the country.

The trust says it wants its schools to become a national model for "progressive, mainstream and positive faith-based education".

Announcing 49 new free schools across the country, Mr Cameron said: "Delivering the best schools and skills for young people is a crucial part of our long term plan.

"Free schools set up by teachers, parents and community groups are not only outperforming other schools, but they are raising the performance of those around them, meaning more opportunities for children to learn the skills they need to get on in life.

"These new schools are an important part of our plan to improve education by raising standards and restoring discipline so our children can compete with the world’s best and enjoy a better future."

Free schools are new schools set up by parents, teachers and charities in response to demand from the local community.

the latest announcement, the final wave of free schools to be approved before the general election, brings the total number of open and approved free schools to more than 400 in the UK.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan added: "Free schools give pupils the chance to attend an excellent local school.

"They are providing more choice than ever before to parents and ensuring that children have access to a high quality school place and the best possible education that prepares them for life in modern Britain."

The government says that free schools and academies take the power away from politicians and bureaucrats, handing control over schools back to teachers.

More than two-thirds of free schools are rated as good or outstanding and 72 per cent are located in areas with a shortage of school places.

However critics have slammed the upheaval the new system is causing.

Chris Keates, general secretary of teaching union the NASUWT, said: "It is clear that if elected the Conservative Party will continue its obsessive ideological focus on structural change.

“It is scandalous that in the context where the Conservative Party is proposing even deeper cuts to funding after the General Election, it still plans to pour millions of pounds into free schools.

“There is no evidence that structural change raises educational standards."

Other free schools in Bolton include the Olive Tree Primary School and Bolton Wanderers Free School.