The Church of England originally set up schools for the poor and it is a historical accident that many of its schools now serve a very different population in leafy suburbs and rural areas.
The Church should not take credit for results that have little to do with religious faith. Where Church schools are more successful than their neighbours, it is usually because of social factors and that in some places they have become the preferred schools of the middle classes. There is no evidence that Church and other faith schools are better simply because they are religious.
Marilyn Mason Education officer British Humanist Association 1 Gower Street London WC1
