Church of England schools should stop selecting pupils on faith because it discriminates against the poor, a group of vicars has claimed. They say the system is open to abuse and many oversubscribed schools reject non-churchgoing families even though they may live nearby. Many Christian schools give priority to families who regularly attend services, a practice which they say preserves their faith ethos. Many Christian schools give priority to families who regularly attend services, a practice which they say preserves their faith ethos - but a group of vicars say it can lead to discrimination against the poor . But the clergymen said affluent parents were more likely to cheat the system by going to church just to get their children into a C of E school, which are often high-performing. In an open letter published yesterday, an alliance of Left-leaning clergy and laypeople called for an end to religious selection. They claimed the Church was being ‘turned to the advantage of those who are already advantaged’, and said it presented a ‘slow-burning crisis’. The comments, made in a letter to The Guardian, sparked anger from the Church of England, which labelled their arguments ‘doctrinaire’. The letter’s 20 signatories included Christina Baron, lay member of the General Synod, Barry Sheerman, Huddersfield Labour MP since 1979, and Theo Hobson, a theologian and religious commentator. The letter’s 20 signatories included Christina Baron, lay member of the General Synod, Barry Sheerman (left) Huddersfield Labour MP since 1979, and Theo Hobson, a theologian and religious commentator (right) Simon Barrow and Jonathan Bartley of the Christian think-tank Ekklesia also signed it, as did Reverend Richard Kirker, founding member of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. Also on the list were Reverend Una Kroll, a women’s equality campaigner, former teachers’ union president John Swallow and Oxford professor Keith Ward. Referring to a 2013 survey by the Sutton Trust, they said 6 per cent of parents with a child at a state-funded school admitted to attending church services in order to get their child into a Church school. They said the level of false Church attendance rose to 10 per cent among affluent parents in the socio-economic group A. The letter said: ‘On a superficial level this is in the Church’s interest, as attendance figures in many parishes are inflated and the standard of our schools boosted by the admittance of children from more affluent families. ‘Ultimately however the universality of the Church is being turned to the advantage of those who are already advantaged. We believe this issue presents a slow-burning crisis. ‘We urge the Church to review and then amend its national guidance on pupil admissions, so that schools are guided towards having open admission arrangements. ‘Church of England schools should look outwards, as an expression of the warmth and generosity of its mission to the whole community.’ Yesterday, a Church spokesman said: ‘The arguments set out in the letter are so flawed and inaccurate they need to be placed in special measures. 'The interpretation of the data cited is mistaken and the arguments doctrinaire.’ Rev Nigel Genders, the Church’s chief education officer, said the Church’s secondary schools have an average of 10 per cent selection by religious criteria and some have more pupils on free school meals than the national average. He continued: ‘We run Christian schools for everyone, providing an inclusive and effective education, we are not – as the article seems to imply – running schools for middle class Christians.’ Simon Calvert, of the Christian Institute, added: ‘There’s a push to try to secularise Church schools and it’s a shame that a group of liberal Anglicans are playing into that.’
Group of vicars say CoE schools should stop selecting pupils on faith .
Many Christian schools give priority to those who regularly attend church .
But vicars argue the system is open to abuse and oversubscribed schools may reject non-churchgoing families even though they may live nearby .
Clergymen said affluent parents were more likely to cheat the system by going to church just to get their children into a high-performing CoE school .