More than 20,000 children were sent to faith schools in England against the preferences of their parents earlier this month, National Secular Society research has exclusively revealed.

An NSS analysis of government data, revealed by the Department for Education (DfE) in response to a freedom of information request, has found that:

• 12,311 pupils were assigned faith secondary schools despite their parents requesting non-faith schools as their first choice during the application process.
• 8,333 pupils were assigned faith primary schools despite their parents requesting non-faith schools as their first choice.
• More than 4,300 of these children were sent to faith schools which they had not included in any of their choices.

Read the full story on the NSS website.

See also: Faith schools significantly limit choice for many parents, NSS finds

Unravelling the choice delusion