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Toby Young has admitted running a school was "harder than he thought" in an extraordinary climbdown, ahead of his departure as CEO of a flagship Free School.

The Tory Columnist was held up as the shining example of Michael Gove's controversial project, which allowed unqualified parents and community groups to set up their own schools outside of local authority oversight.

But Mr Young has stepped back from the School he set up, admitting he had been "arrogant" to think he could do better than local authorities and qualified teachers.

The Tory columnist and broadcaster quit as CEO of the West London Free School, opened by Boris Johnson just five years ago.

He faced fierce criticism from Hammersmith locals when he set up the school, which has already seen two headteachers quit in its short lifespan.

(Image: PA)

And today he admitted in an interview with Schools Week that he regrets being harsh about teachers, and Labour's track record on education.

He said: “Yes. There are a lot of things I regret. I was very critical of England’s public education system under the last Labour government, and I hadn’t grasped how difficult it is to do better, and to bring about system-wide improvement.

“The last government and this government have achieved a remarkable amount, and I do think the direction of travel is the right direction, but there is no question that it was arrogant of me to believe that just having high expectations and believing in the benefits of a knowledge-based education for all, that those things alone would be enough to create successful schools.”