Virtually all religiously selective state schools in England are breaking the law by failing to comply with admissions regulations, according to a report published on Thursday by the British Humanist Association (BHA) and the Fair Admissions Campaign (FAC). The study examined the admissions policies of 70 out of 535 such secondary schools and found widespread violations of the School Admissions Code.
The report, titled 'An Unholy Mess', identifies 69 schools that breached the code, with the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) citing over 1,000 breaches. These include illegal interviews for sixth-form places, failure to prioritise children in care, and discrimination on the basis of race or gender. Some schools also lacked clarity on religious worship requirements and failed to explain how children with special educational needs were admitted.
Andrew Copson, chief executive of the BHA, said: 'It's well known that religious schools have been abusing the admissions system for some time. Even so, no one can have imagined the problem was as widespread as this report shows.' The FAC submitted objections to 43 of the most serious offenders, and the OSA found breaches in every case, often uncovering additional violations beyond those initially identified.
Professor Stephen Gorard of Durham University noted that faith-based schools tend to admit fewer disadvantaged pupils than their neighbourhoods would suggest, contributing to social segregation. 'This then makes the pupil body appear easier to teach, and leads to the mistaken conclusion that such schools are somehow better in terms of performance,' he said.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: 'We want every child to have access to the best education possible, and where there is evidence a school does not have fair and transparent admissions arrangements, swift action will be taken. We will consider the findings of BHA's report carefully.'
