How many faith state schools are there in England?
Primary schools – 6,384 Secondary schools – 589 Of these, 4,716 are Church of England, 2,108 Roman Catholic, 32 Jewish, four Muslim, two Sikh, one Greek Orthodox and one Seventh Day Adventist. Until Labour was elected in 1997, all state faith schools were Christian or Jewish. Is that enough? Not according to the Blair government, which believes they improve educational standards and wants to see more of them. Previous education secretary David Blunkett said he wanted to “bottle” the ethos of faith schools, and a recent white paper declares: ” We wish to welcome faith schools, with their distinctive ethos and character, into the maintained (state) sector, where there is clear local agreement.” Will the government get its way? Since January 2000, there have been 61 enquiries – seven of which have come to fruition. The Church of England is this week discussing ambitious plans for 100 new schools and is particularly keen to expand the number of its secondaries. Some Muslim private schools
Primary schools – 6,384 Secondary schools – 589 Of these, 4,716 are Church of England, 2,108 Roman Catholic, 32 Jewish, four Muslim, two Sikh, one Greek Orthodox and one Seventh Day Adventist. Until Labour was elected in 1997, all state faith schools were Christian or Jewish. Is that enough? Not according to the Blair government, which believes they improve educational standards and wants to see more of them. Previous education secretary David Blunkett said he wanted to “bottle” the ethos of faith schools, and a recent white paper declares: ” We wish to welcome faith schools, with their distinctive ethos and character, into the maintained (state) sector, where there is clear local agreement.” Will the government get its way? Since January 2000, there have been 61 enquiries – seven of which have come to fruition. The Church of England is this week discussing ambitious plans for 100 new schools and is particularly keen to expand the number of its secondaries. Some Muslim private schools
