A secondary school opening this September hopes to improve the area’s “low opportunities” for students to take up university science degrees.

The East London Science School, catering for boys and girls of all abilities and backgrounds, is a so-called free school aimed at children of all abilities aged 11-18.

The school will be housed in the Grade II listed Clock Mill on Three Mills Island in Bromley by Bow for at for at least two years while a permanent home is secured nearby.

The building at Three Mills Lane, which was originally an oasthouse, will be turned into a dedicated classroom prior to opening.

The site for the school was agreed by the Legacy Cooperation overseeing The Olympic Park and parts of the surrounding area.

Principal David Perks said: “There are low opportunities for children in East London to progress in science. The number of students studying physics for their A-levels in Newham and Tower Hamlets, according to figures from two years ago, were less than a 100 for the boroughs combined. That is less than at my previous state school in Tooting, South London.

“If students don’t get to study any science, or only as a combined subject, for GCSE or A-levels then you won’t get many progressing into science degrees.”

He explained that the school will teach physics, chemistry and biology separately along with offering a broader range of subjects such as history and geography.

School mornings will be academic while in the afternoons the capital will be used as an outdoor classroom for sports and cultural visits.

The school will have 120 places, of which half are already filled, available for Year 7 pupils for entry this September.

The school will grow organically as each year group is recruited to reach a total of 600 pupils in Years 7 - 11. A sixth form is planend within two years.

Children will be accepted purely on how close to the school they live and on a first-come-first-served basis.

Parents can apply online at www.eastLondonscienceschool.co.uk/applications, email davidperks@eastlondonscienceschool.co.uk or call 0207 042 5910.

A free school is a non-selective school outside local authority control funded by the taxpayer.