A High Court judgment has found that faith-based admissions in state schools can result in ‘indirect race discrimination’, highlighting long-standing concerns from Humanists UK that religious selection leads to ethnic and social segregation in schools.
In the case concerning Twyford Church of England High School, Mr Justice Bourne accepted that faith-based oversubscription criteria can have a disparate impact between racial or ethnic groups, even where the policy’s stated aim is religious rather than racial.
The Secretary of State for Education, who intervened in the case, accepted it ‘would not be surprising’ if faith-based oversubscription criteria disadvantaged ‘certain racial groups’. The court also recorded acknowledgements from the school’s trust and the Office of Schools Adjudicator that such criteria will ‘almost always’ disadvantage one group compared with another.
Humanists UK, which campaigns for a single admissions code with no privilege or discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, says the ruling should prompt government ministers to examine how faith-based admissions can result in segregation. Analysis by Humanists UK found that ethnic integration in schools improved significantly as a result of the cap.
Humanists UK has also called for the 50% faith cap, which is applied to faith free schools, to be extended to any new faith school allowed to open under provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Without a cap 100% religiously selective schools will be able to open under proposed measures in the Bill and Humanists UK has been working with Parliamentarians to propose an amendment extending the cap to the Bill. In a recent debate in the House of Lords, members of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group made a strong case for the cap to be applied to promote community cohesion.
Humanists UK’s Education Campaigns Manager Lewis Young said:
‘It is shocking to see, set down in black and white that the Government accepts that state schools are discriminating on racial grounds and that the Government seemingly supports that.
‘No child should be turned away from their local school because their parents are of the ‘wrong’ or no religion. The Government should be working to create an admissions system that is fair for everyone, not entrenching segregation further in society.’
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For further comment or information, media should contact Humanists UK Acting Director of Public Affairs and Policy Karen Wright at press@humanists.uk or phone 0203 675 0959.
Read more about our work on state-funded faith schools.
Read the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 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.