Croydon College has moved a step closer to opening a new town-centre secondary school.

Plans for the free school, called the New Croydon Academy, were submitted to the Department for Education on Saturday.

The college compiled its 100-page application, containing budget proposals and demonstrating local support, following a public consultation launched in August.

It hopes to open the school, which would be free of council control, in September 2016.

Frances Wadsworth, principal of Croydon College said: "We have had so much support for NCA; MPs, councillors, businesses, primary schools and of course, parents.

"We still have a way to go to realise our ambition, but with all the support and good feeling we have encountered, it’s a journey I think we’re all looking forward to."

If the plans are provisionally approved, college bosses will be invited to an interview at the Department for Education.