LONDON (EJP)--- UK Jewish community leaders have expressed relief after learning that the government will not be forcing its faith schools to take a greater number of non-Jewish pupils.

The British Department for Education has inserted into its new Schools Admission Code a clause exempting schools of "a religious character" from tough anti-discrimination rules under the Equality Act (2006) which would ban any selection of pupils on the grounds of religion.

The rules mean no non-faith state school could refuse to accept any pupil on the grounds of their faith, or religious belief, without being prosecuted.

Without the crucial exemption being inserted into the Schools Admission Code, a Jewish School such as London’s Jewish Free School in Kingsbury would technically have been forced to take pupils from all backgrounds in the local catchment area like non-faith state schools, and would have been liable to prosecution under the terms of the Act if it had found to have discriminated.

Pressure to secularise

Education Secretary Alan Johnson had been under pressure from some political quarters to secularise the UK education system and to make faith schools, which generally achieve better exam results than non-faith schools, open their doors to the wider community.

The pressure is particularly acute in areas like Kingsbury, whose local catchment area includes some deprived areas, where school choices are limited for non-Jewish parents.

It also increased after increasing evidence of hate-preaching at Madrassas, which are Muslim schools of learning in the UK

However - after representing the views of Jewish schools "heavily" in the consultation process - the Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was pleased with the outcome.

The code, which will come into effect on February 28, 2007, says: "It is unlawful under Section 49 of the Equality Act 2006 for maintained, non-maintained or independent schools to discriminate against a child on the grounds of the child’s religion or belief in the terms on which it offers to admit him as a pupil or by refusing to accept an application for a place at the school.

"However, those schools designated by the Secretary of State as having a religious character (faith schools) are exempt and are permitted to use faith-based oversubscription criteria in order to give higher priority in admissions to children who are members of, or who practise, their faith or denomination. This only applies if a school is oversubscribed."

If a school is not oversubscribed, the code adds, then it must admit whichever applicants wish to apply for the school regardless of their religion - but because most Jewish schools are heavily oversubscribed, this clause is almost certain not to matter to the UK’s Jewish faith schools.

Board will check

A Board of Deputies of British Jews spokesman said that the community would scrutinise the wording of the document "closely" to ensure that it "does not prejudice or undermine the ethos of Jewish schools or the integrity of the religious authorities that run them".

"We will continue to monitor the way in which the code is applied in practise to ensure that it continues to operate fairly and sensibly, without any consequences that may have been unforeseen at the drafting stage," he added.

But Board Chief Executive, Jon Benjamin, provisionally welcomed it, saying: “We are pleased with the outcome. The open and pragmatic approach of the Department of Education and Skills (DFES) towards this critical issue meant that our concerns and comments were well received and acted upon.

"We have a good working relationship with the DfES and welcome the Secretary of State’s recent initiative of scheduling meetings with faith groups to promote a better understanding of the valuable and positive role of faith schools.”