"I don't mind putting in the time to become better and better at something, " says Mr. Moses, who won his first gold in the 1976 Montreal Olympics while still in college, where he practiced six hours a day and studied until 2 a.m. most nights.

WSJ: Edwin Moses, Greg Louganis, Joan Benoit, Mark Spitz: Where Are They Now?

On the scheduled first day of term nearly 200 pupils turned up to the free school, housed in a former Bedford College building in Cauldwell Street.

BBC: Enforcement notice against Bedford Free School withdrawn