Teachers from leading public schools plan to set up their own sixth-form as they say private education is now unaffordable for the middle classes.

A new kind of education is desperately needed because country lawyers, accountants and other well-heeled professionals are struggling to afford to send their children to fee-paying schools, according to the project’s founders.

Joe Francis, a senior master at Eton, along with teachers from the £39,750-a-year Wellington College and the £42,680-a-year Dulwich College, wants to create a new type of school for well-to-do families who can no longer keep up with the spiralling cost of fees.

“My wife is a doctor, I'm a teacher: even for reasonably prosperous people like us, most private education is unaffordable without bursaries,” Mr Francis told The Telegraph.

“What’s happened is fees have risen so rapidly, we can’t afford to send our children to independent schools.”

Mr Francis, who started teaching at Eton 20 years ago, said that private schools have become “hungry for cash” so they can invest in sports facilities and West End-standard theatres.

“Britain has produced an elite global market for independent education, which it does very well,” he said.

“They have become professional in arts and sports in order to attract the elite, influential people - the biggest targets.”