More than 100 parents with children due to start secondary school are backing to plans to open a science specialist free school in East London next year.

Promoters for the East London Science School (ELSS) which plans to offer all pupils the opportunity to study three separate sciences until the age of 16 regardless of ability, have been campaigning on the streets of Newham and Tower Hamlets, collecting signatures of support .

The school is the brainchild of Tower Hamlets resident, David Perks, a Physics teacher with more than 25 years experience in the state sector who is currently advising on the new national curriculum for science. He is working with a group of London school teachers and professionals.

The East London Science School is proposed to open in September 2013 and will aim to have a full complement of 1000+ pupils including a 400+ sixth form. All will follow an academic curriculum, focusing on the sciences and mathematics but covering a broad range of subjects including modern languages, Classics and music.

The school has been described as a “non-selective grammar school”, with aims of giving pupils the best academic education possible comparable to the best public schools in London.

David Perks, said: “We have had a great response from families and we have met so many parents who see the need for a new secondary school in East London. Our decision to offer separate sciences for all pupils has been a real selling point and the parents we have spoken to are delighted we are planning a school which will strive to offer a rigorous academic education to all pupils irrespective of their background or ability.”

Mark Smith, a father of two from East London who is supporting the project, said: “The East London Science School provides my daughter with an extra option that lies between the traditional state offering and an unaffordable private education. She dreams of becoming a Vet. To realise her dream would require the highest level of academic excellence in the world of science. I believe that ELSS will give her a real opportunity to follow her dream in a meaningful and creative way. I also value that ELSS will give her exposure to Classics. This is something you’d only normally see in a private school.”