The Government’s flagship Academies Bill, which was rushed through Parliament in time for the start of the summer recess, has been backed by MPs.

The Bill was passed by 317 votes to 225, a Government majority of 92, despite accusations it would lead to a “two-tier” education system and would damage comprehensive schooling.

The legislation aims to create the first of a new wave of academy schools, free from local authority control, to be in place in September.

It also paves the way for parents, charities and other organisations to set up Swedish-style “free schools”.

During the Bill’s passage, six Lib Dem MPs rebelled against the coalition Government in backing a call by John Pugh (Southport), a former teacher, to allow parents to be balloted if a school governor objected to a school becoming an academy.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the Bill would “grant greater autonomy to individual schools, give more freedom to teachers and inject a new level of dynamism into a programme that has been proven to raise standards for all children”.

But Shadow Education Secretary Ed Balls feared the changes would lead to “social apartheid” in education, describing them as “the most profoundly unfair piece of social engineering in this generation”.