MAIL ONLINE: A Labour MP has bitterly attacked plans for a Muslim ‘Eton’ for girls.
The college for 1,500 pupils would be both the largest Muslim faith school and the biggest boarding school in the country – larger than 1,330-pupil Eton.
Yesterday Gordon Prentice, MP for Pendle, near the school site in Burnley, warned that it could damage existing schools and colleges in the area and stoke community tensions.
‘The last thing we need is single-sex, single faith schools for girls,’ he told the Times Educational Supplement.
‘It pulls against community cohesion. It makes me weep to think so much time, energy and effort has gone into the community to get people to mix together. [This] goes against all public policy.’
The blueprint emerged after a proposal for a 5,000-place girls’ boarding school in Pendle was dropped amid public opposition.
The Islamic charity behind the Burnley project, the Mohiuddin Trust, insists its aim is to ‘strengthen inter-community relationships’.
It is in the process of setting up Mohiuddin International Girls’ College after purchasing the former Burnley College site for £2million.
The college would cater for girls of 16 and over and teach mainstream qualifications and faith studies.
The trust wants the school to cater initially for 500 students, expanding to 1,500. >>> Laura Clark | Friday, December 18, 2009
