Headline, June20, 2013

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Parents seeking the best education for their offspring often look to ancient institutions. Small wonder that schools run by either the Catholic church or the  Church of England are often high on their list. Almost a quarter of all children in the state system attend a religious school, most of them Anglican -or Catholic run primary schools.

In his drive to give parents more choice in educating their children, Tony Blair raised the profile of church schools by encouraging existing ones to expand and new ones to set up shop. The former Prime Minister was also keen on incorporating other religions into the state system. The first state-funded Muslim and Sikh schools opened soon after he took power, and the first Hindu school in 2008.

Mr Blair's successors have lacked his zeal, but religious schools continue to flourish. One reason is that that their pupils tend to do better than the others in exams. In 2009, 57% of them around the age 16 passed national exams with acceptable grades, including those in maths and English, compared with 51% at non-religious state schools.

Studies suggest that this may have more to do with the intake of students than with the quality of education. Faith schools are allowed to select pupils according to whether their parents are observant religiously   -or pretend to be-  and such parents are often of higher educational attainment or commitment than the common run.

They are frequently just plain richer, too. The proportion of children entitled to free school meals at Catholic and Church of England schools is lower than at non-religious state schools. The Church of England has promised to set aside places at its new schools for children, whose parents profess other religions or none at all, but the pledge has no legal force.

And just later, the new Conservative/Liberal Democratic government wanted to rely on methods other than overt selection to improve results in state schools. The education secretary had rushed through two main sorts of supply-side reforms. The previous government had come up with ''academies'' to revive failing, mainly inner-city schools and given the certain freedoms.

Academies do not have to stick zealously to the national curriculum, for example, and they were not constrained by national pay deals for teachers, that hobble their counterparts elsewhere in the state sector. They may not, however, select students; they are required to take the most local ones, even when academy replaces that vanishingly rare thing, a failing church school.

Excellent schools tend to choose their pupils. Is there another way? Succeeding without selecting will also be the challenge to other supply side initiative: free schools. Taking a leaf out of Sweden's book, it may be very possible to get groups of parents or teachers in or -in principle religious leaders to set up their own schools, which will enjoy from the outset the same freedom as academies.

And what about the rest of the world? Any momentum? I have felt nothing.

Respectful dedication to the education charity: ARK

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless