A PRIVATE Blackburn school has formally submitted its application to become a free school.

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in West Park Road, has submitted its 130-page document to the Department for Education requesting approval for the change in status.

The move would mean that QEGS, Lancashire’s oldest grammar school, would scrap its £10,000 a year fees and open its doors to children of all abilities.

It comes as pupil numbers fell from a high of 1,200 in 1997 to 478 in 2012.

The school said there should be a formal decision made in May.