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Religiously based schools in England and Wales

When education became a state function, the schools operated by the Church of England were incorporated into the system under the terms of the 1902 Education Act. The structure has been revised by subsequent legislation, in particular the 1998 School Standards and Framework Act.
Some 5,000 schools are currently linked to the Church of England and the Church in Wales. Nearly a quarter of primary schools in the country are Anglican, as are about 6% of secondary schools. Because most church schools were established many decades ago, there are fewer in suburban areas than elsewhere.
The Catholic Church is also a major operator of schools, serving almost 10% of the total school population. Some Catholic schools are independent, but most – more than 1800 primary and close to 400 secondary schools – receive state funding. The state also supports some Methodist schools and about 70 associated with non-Christian religious groups; 42 of these are Jewish (see below).
State-supported denominational schools are allowed different levels of autonomy depending on whether they are ‘voluntary aided’ or ‘voluntary controlled’ schools. The religious organisation retains some financial responsibility for ‘voluntary aided’ schools. The school governors (the majority of whom are nominated by the church) decide whom to employ, which students to admit, and what kind of religious instruction and observance will be required. With ‘voluntary controlled’ schools, by contrast, the Local Authority employs the staff, has responsibility for admissions, and determines the content of the religious education syllabus.
In addition to these publicly funded schools, there are a substantial number of independent schools established or operated by religious groups. In 2011 there were 1010 independent faith schools educating approximately 305,776 pupils. Of those, 821 have a Christian ethos or are inter-denominational, 139 are Muslim and 46 are Jewish. There are moves to bring more faith-based schools into the state sector, though the topic is politically controversial.

D 11 September 2012    ADavid Voas

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