Boris Johnson has given a 'gold' rating to a West London primary school - just weeks after backing plans to bulldoze it to make way for a controversial free school.

The London Mayor's latest embarrassing gaffe will fuel the campaign to keep open Sulivan primary school in Fulham, south west London.

The successful primary school, is set to be replaced by a boys-only free school - one of Education Secretary Michael Gove’s pet projects.

Free schools are state-funded, but outside local authority control and can set their own hours, curriculum and pay for teachers.

Sulivan was recently rated by the government’s own watchdog Ofsted as “good” with “outstanding features” and has 300 pupils from a wide range of backgrounds who speak 35 languages between them. And it was chosen as one of the 108 London schools classed as exceptional by the mayor for stretching the brightest pupils and included in his ‘Gold Club’ list - inspired by the London Olympics.

Jennette Arnold, Labour’s London Assembly education spokesperson, said: “Unfortunately the Mayor’s right hand doesn’t seem to know what his left hand is doing. One week he wants to support his friends in Hammersmith & Fulham who want to bulldoze the school to make way for a Free School, and the next he awards that same school membership of his prestigious Gold Club.

“The Mayor claims that he has no influence over education in London, but when he chooses to hand out awards to schools it is clear that he is committed to getting involved in education in the capital. By failing to act, he is letting down the children, parents and teachers of Sulivan Primary School.

“I have visited Sulivan School and it’s a wonderful environment for children. To demolish a perfectly good school in an attempt to push forward the government’s misguided policy on free schools is ludicrous.

“Boris said he has no responsibility for education yet he has made it a priority to help find sites for free schools in London and investing £30 million in education matters.”

In October at mayor’s question time, when asked if the plan for Sulivan school was fair, he replied:”It sounds absolutely brilliant.”

Hammersmith and Fulham council is proposing to merge it with New King’s, another primary school nearby.

Under plans, from next year all the pupils would be on the Sulivan site, using temporary classrooms for the extra children, while New King’s undergoes a £2m refurbishment and then all pupils move there in 2015.

A Hammersmith and Fulham council spokesman said: ”The school buildings on the Sulivan site are nearing the end of their useful life and it is estimated that it would cost over £6 million to replace the current buildings.”