Humanists attempt to halt 'back-door' spread of state-funded religious schools
Source: Guardian
Humanists attempt to halt 'back-door' spread of state-funded religious schools
Secular education campaign seeks judicial review of Richmond council's approval of 'faith' schools without choice of alternative
Peter Walker
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 15 November 2012 01.00 EST
A potentially landmark high court case begins today, which could halt what campaigners call the "back-door" spread of new state religious schools through England, approved by councils without residents being given a choice of alternative.
The British Humanist Association (BHA), which has launched the action with a local campaign group, is applying for judicial review of the decision by a London council, Richmond, to hand £10m of land and assets to the Catholic church to set up two new voluntary-aided religious schools, one primary and one secondary.
The case will hinge on a relatively narrow piece of legislation, an amendment to the Education Act passed last year, which compels councils looking to set up a new school to also seek proposals for a free school, with the competing bids decided on by the Department for Education. But the BHA says it highlights a wider issue of councils too often waving through state-funded faith schools, with the last five years seeing two-thirds of them set up without any alternatives being offered.
Andrew Copson, chief executive of the BHA, which opposes all faith schools, said: "Although it's a local case, it really is representative of a national pattern, which sees state-funded religious schools opening by the back door, without competition, without the possibility even for local people to make their voices heard.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/nov/15/humanist-legal-challenge-religious-schools
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