The Accord Coalition has written to Surrey County Council this week, urging it to reconsider proposed admission arrangements for Reigate Priory School. Under draft plans, the Council has proposed that if the junior school is oversubscribed, children leaving two local infant schools should be chosen over other children. This is despite one of the infant schools being a faith school that selects up to half of its own pupils on faith grounds when oversubscribed.
Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE, said ‘Indirect religious selection at non-faith schools, by making discriminatory schools feeder schools, presents yet another practical problem that stems from having religious selection in the state funded system. It is something that we are monitoring and seeing more of.
‘There can be a range of reasons for employing feeder schools, to ensure that school places are assigned in an equitable manner. However, we have suggested to the Council ways it could amend the proposed arrangements for Reigate Priory, so that it cannot be accused of indirectly privileging or discriminating against pupils on religious grounds, and we await the outcome of its current consultation on its admission policies with interest.’
