TAKE ACTION: Tell Surrey County Council to abandon plans to replace Virginia Water community school with a divisive Christian faith school. To draft your response to the consultation, feel free to use our suggested template.
Surrey County Council has approved a proposal to amalgamate two Surrey infant schools, one Church of England and one with a community ethos, into a single Christian faith school that will legally be permitted to select 100% of pupils on religious grounds.
The decision to close Englefield Green Infant School and Christ Church C of E Infant School in Virginia Water and replace them with a single Church of England school was made by the Lead Cabinet Member for All Age Learning at a council meeting on 10 March. Councillor Robert Evans spoke against the plan saying that Surrey should favour open, religiously neutral schools that are open to whole community. There now follows a ‘representation period’ of four weeks (excluding school holidays) during which local residents are entitled to register their opposition to the proposal.
Humanists UK, which has long campaigned for a fully inclusive state education system that is suitable for all pupils regardless of background, has expressed dismay at the decision which will see the publicly owned land and buildings of Englefield Green Infant School – which is the largest of the two schools – gifted to the Church of England. This is despite the fact that 67% of the 180 pupil places at Englefield Green are filled, in comparison to just 59% of the 90 places at Christ Church.
Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Dr Ruth Wareham commented: ‘We are hugely disappointed that Surrey County Council intends to give the green light to a proposal that seeks to replace a community ethos school with a divisive faith school. Not only will this mean that families in Virginia Water have limited access to inclusive infant places in schools without a religious character but, in the event the school is over-subscribed, non-religious families or those from non-Christian backgrounds will be put to the back of the queue for any available places.
‘To add insult to injury, the proposal will see public land and buildings from the larger, more popular community ethos school gifted to the Diocese of Guildford. It is therefore imperative that local residents who want an open, inclusive school system use the consultation period to urge Surrey County Council to row back on this completely wrongheaded decision.’
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For further comment or information, please contact Humanists UK Press Manager Casey-Ann Seaniger at casey@humanists.uk or phone 020 7324 3078 or 07393 344293.
Read our most recent article on the proposal to convert Surrey community school into a Christian faith school.
Read our response to the initial consultation on the proposal
Respond to the statutory consultation.
Read our article on new selective Catholic school that will be fully funded by the public purse.
Read more about our work on state-funded faith schools.
Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 85,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.