An education union is up in arms over the creation of what it has dubbed a “bankers’ free school” in a well-heeled neighbourhood in Wandsworth, which has the support of 25 bankers and private equity individuals.

GMB has accused Wandsworth Council of bowing to the financiers, who include individuals from top City banks such as Morgan Stanley, by pushing to build the school on the site of the disused Bolingbroke Hospital in Northcote - an area that has acquired the moniker "Nappy Valley" for its high birth rates and affluence.