David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions on the levels of religious diversity in free schools and new academies; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

The government is committed to ensuring that faith designated free schools and new academies provide additional places not just for pupils of their own faith but for pupils from other faiths or no faith. It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to adopt faith based admission arrangements.Those that do may give priority when oversubscribed to a maximum of 50% of applicants with reference to their faith. The department does not collect data on schools that are oversubscribed or on religious diversity in those schools that adopt faith based admission arrangements.

The number of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year is detailed in the table below.

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