A report published by a race relations think tank has called on faith schools to stop selecting pupils on the basis of their religion.

The report from the Runnymede Trust on Thursday accused faith schools of departing from their legacy of serving the underprivileged by claiming that they educate a disproportionately small number of poor children.

The Trust said faith schools would “remain a significant and important port of our education system” if they served the disadvantaged in society and valued all young people.

Rob Berkeley, Deputy Director of Runnymede, said that faith schools could help promote community cohesion by opening their doors to all children.

"Faith schools make up a third of our education system,” he said. “Schools should be central to their communities and neighbourhoods for all who live there not just those who share their religious world view.

“If we are serious about the importance of equality and cohesion, faith schools too need to play their part by welcoming all in society to the benefits of their approaches."

Steve Chalke, chief executive of Oasis Community Learning, expressed his support for diversity in faith schools.

He was quoted by The Times as saying, “You cannot be both a Christian school and a school only for Christians.”

The Church of England in particular has had to fight off accusations that its admissions codes discriminate against children from lower income families.

A survey published by the Church in October found prevailing public uncertainty over the fairness of its schools’ admissions policies while support among the public for faith schools remained strong overall.

At the time of the report’s release the Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, the Rev Jan Ainsworth said church attendance was the only measure its school used when allocating places on the basis of faith.

Commenting on the recommendations of the Runnymede report, she said stopping selection on the basis of religion would be “deeply unpopular with parents, and would do nothing to foster community cohesion”, according to The Times.