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Bring Back Church School Pupils 'a Year Ahead By 11'

Posted on: Thursday, 28 July 2005, 18:01 CDT

PUPILS who attend church schools gain the equivalent of at least an extra year's schooling by the age of 11, research has revealed.

They are effectively 12 months ahead in their studies by the end of their primary schooling compared to children from other schools.

The benefits of faith schools are even greater for the lowest ability pupils than they are for the brightest, according to a study published in the National Institute Economic Review.

Researchers studied the mathematics national curriculum test results of 303 11-year-olds at seven Roman Catholic and Church of England primary schools in Barking and Dagenham, East London.

They compared these figures with the national curriculum test results of 2,076 children at 28 local authority schools in the borough.

The study found that in the top 25 per cent of pupils across the two types of schools, church school pupils were the equivalent of three-quarters of a year ahead.

But the bottom 25 per cent of pupils in religious schools were about a year-and-a-half ahead of those at general LEA schools.

The lowest performing tenth of pupils in religious schools attained the same scores as the lowest third in general schools.

This means that general schools had about three times as many low attainers as faith schools.

Professor Sig Prais, senior research fellow at the National Institute Economic Review, said that reasons for the gap in achievement could include the different backgrounds.

He said: 'It could be that the home backgrounds of children in religious foundation schools are more educationally and emotionally supportive for example, having a greater general concern with the ideals of education, fewer single-parent homes than in general schools. Children especially from single-parent homes have more home background worries and cannot concentrate as well on their school work.' Church schools also tend to have smaller year groups and classes, which can lead to a 'calmer, general atmosphere' and fewer discipline problems.

Professor Prais said there should be further research into whether faith schools make more use of setting educating high and low ability pupils in different groups.

A few faith schools may also be covertly academically selecting pupils by suggesting the less able apply for neighbouring schools.

Another explanation could be that faith schools have better quality teachers.

There are 7,000 faith schools in the country 600 secondary and 6,400 primary. There are 6,955 Church of England, Roman Catholic and Methodist schools; 36 Jewish, five Muslim, two Sikh, one Greek Orthodox and one Seventh Day Adventist.

Source: Daily Mail; London (UK)

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