Leicester Islamic faith school criticised over 'discriminatory' policy » Education » 24dash.com

A Leicester Islamic faith school has been rapped for giving preferential treatment to children attending a private primary school.

The national Schools Adjudicator ruled that Madani High School's admissions arrangements were "socially and economically discriminatory".

The adjudicator was asked to investigate a complaint by Leicester City Council that the state school was giving priority to applicants at the independent Leicester Islamic Academy Primary School (LIA).

Adjudicator Dr Peter Matthews has upheld the complaint and ordered Madani High to change its admissions policy.

Madani describes itself as the country's first purpose-built Islamic faith school.

The school, set on a four-acre site in Evington, was built using a £15.2m grant awarded by the then Department for Education and Skills and opened as a voluntary aided state school in 2007. It was previously part of LIA.

In his judgment, Dr Matthews said that by naming LIA as its only feeder school, it was effectively "guaranteeing a place to Muslim children whose parents can afford the fees, who thus have priority over Muslim children at large".

He also observed that another admissions criteria which gave priority to Muslim children who already have a brother or sister at Madani "has the effect of ensuring that only the oldest child in a family need attend the LIA for all siblings to be guaranteed a place".

Dr Matthews also noted that the school appeared to have dropped its commitment to reserving 10% of its places for non-Muslim pupils.

But he concluded: "Giving preference in the admission arrangements to the children from a fee-paying independent school (the LIA) puts all other applicants for the oversubscribed high school at a disadvantage, particularly those from deprived areas who could not afford to buy a place at the LIA."