As part of its agenda to promote choice, diversity and parent power in education, New Labour is aiming to develop a system of independent non-fee paying state schools. It is envisaged that control of the governing arrangements in such schools will shift from the local authority and be delegated to a range of external partners and sponsors drawn largely from business and religious organisations. The involvement of external partners in education in the US suggests that it may be both ineffective and detrimental to the development of rounded citizens. This article reviews some of the themes from research there and argues that, in an increasingly fragmented world, privatised control of civic education in state-funded schools in England threatens the integrity of public education and the civic objectives of state schooling.