Faith schools 'witch-hunt victims'

Its author Christina Odone warns the Government intends to remove their remaining autonomy and bring them into the state system in an attempt to curry favour with Labour Party activists.

In Faith Schools Betrayed, Ms Odone, a former editor of The Catholic Herald, argues the schools are inclusive and offer a good education to children who could otherwise miss out.

She says they benefit Muslim girls as they give their parents the confidence to keep them in school for longer and sharply raise the chances of going on to higher education.

The report also states they give poor parents a chance of a quality education that would otherwise be available only to middle-class parents who know how to take advantage of the state system.

Ms Odone also argues that using the numbers of pupils taking free school meals is not an accurate way of judging the social background of pupils attending faith schools.

Instead, parents from strongly religious communities often turn to an extended network of family and friends rather than accept government aid.

A Government-commissioned report on faith schools by Chief Schools Adjudicator Sir Philip Hunter is due out shortly.

Faith Schools Betrayed is published by the Centre for Policy Studies.