|TOP|The Church of England has had to defend itself this week over claims that its secondary schools select and exclude pupils on social grounds.

The Church of England schools have come under fire from critics recently over its admissions procedures as the Government continues to debate whether to create more faith schools and to give schools greater control over admissions.

Both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church have hit back at calls from millionaire Sir Peter Lampl for faith schools to stop admitting pupils on grounds of religious belief, claiming that their schools are in line with the national average intake of pupils from socially deprived backgrounds.

The Church of England has released figures on the percentage of pupils in its schools who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) – an indicator of the social mix of a school - revealing that their numbers are similar to the national average.

|QUOTE|The figures come in response to a study published this week by the Sutton Trust which concluded that schools which are allowed to set their own criteria for admission of pupils – such as faith schools – take in a lower number of FSM pupils in comparison with actual numbers in the postcode where the schools are sited.

A spokesman for the Church of England stressed this week that evidence showed that, “Church of England schools are very similar in the kinds of ‘disadvantage’ they serve to the other schools in the community”.

Canon John Hall, the Church of England’s chief education officer, defended C of E schools this week saying that the average number of pupils on free school meals was 13.2 per cent compared to the England national average of 15.8 per cent.

He also said that around one-sixth of C of E schools had more than 30 per cent of pupils on free school meals, around the same proportion as local authority schools, adding that they also had very similar numbers of children from the poorest postcodes, reports The Guardian.

|AD|Speaking to The Church of England Newspaper, Sir Peter Lampl clarified the position of the Trust: “We think that religion shouldn’t be part of the selection process. It can be a recipe for social selection. Our idea is to remove all that, so there is less opportunity for manipulation, and parents don’t have to jump through hoops to prove they are devout. We are all aware of parents who suddenly have a religious conversion so their kids are eligible for a place.”

He called for “a robust admissions code for schools, which is mandatory.”

Church of England spokesman Steve Jenkins responded, however, by saying that the Church took more than simply FSM indicators into consideration to assess social mix in schools.

“On measures of ‘eligibility for free school meals’ and the proportion of the school population in Church of England schools that are from postcodes with high Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) scores, there is virtual equality between Church of England schools and other types of school," he said.

He added: “There are also almost identical proportions of learners with statements of special educational needs (SEN) in Church of England schools compared with all other comprehensive and non-selective schools.”

Canon Hall said: “We believe the schools are serving the communities in which they are set and, we have deliberately tried to expand our secondary provision in areas of economic and social deprivation.”

According to Canon Hall, around 30 – or two thirds - of the schools that have been opened since the Dearing Report identified the need for 100 new secondary schools are sited in areas of high deprivation.

He said: “The Church of England is strongly committed to improving its provision in socially deprived areas. In practice, we are taking action to that effect. Our schools are distinctively Christian and open and inclusive to all who seek such education.”