New research from the Pastoral Research Centre Trust has suggested that a rise in late baptisms is down to a growing number of lapsed Catholic parents baptising their children to secure places at top faith schools.

The number of baptisms taking place between the ages of one and 13 swelled from five per cent to 30 per cent between 1958 and 2005, while the number of baptisms before a child's first birthday - the traditional period for child baptisms within the Catholic Church - dropped from 85 per cent to 64 per cent in the same period.

The trust's Tony Spencer said that lapsed Catholic parents are baptising their children in the hope of gaining a place at oversubscribed Catholic schools, which enjoy the reputation of high educational standards.

According to Spencer, a rise in funding to Catholic schools over the years has lead to better standards and exam results and therefore higher demand for places.

"Because of that, the demand for places increased not only from Catholics but from the rest of the community. It is a great compliment from the community at large to the quality of the Catholic school system," he said.

Oona Stannard, director of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales, was quoted by the BBC as saying, "That the child is brought into the Church and the family's bond with the Church strengthened can only but be a good thing, irrespective of whether the child does eventually have the benefit of attending a Catholic school."

Earlier this week, the Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls announced that the Government was scrapping plans to expand the number of faith schools.