School attended by Blair’s sons slammed for ‘unfair’ policy

A top Catholic state school attended by Tony Blair’s sons has been ordered to revise its admissions policy by a watchdog which said some of the rules are unfair.

The London Oratory School was heavily criticised by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator for prioritising children based on whether they or their parents sing in the choir, arrange flowers in church, serve at the altar or are involved in wider Catholic Church activities such as visiting the sick. In its ruling, the adjudicator said it is a breach of the admissions code for the school to include “service in a Catholic Parish or in the wider Catholic Church” as one of its criteria for selecting pupils.

The school, which caters for boys only up to the age of 16, is extremely popular and is heavily oversubscribed. It achieves good exam results with 92 per cent of pupils scoring at least five GCSEs at grade C and above last year, including English and maths, while 97 per cent of sixth-formers gained three or more A-levels at grades A*-E.

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Mr Blair sent his two eldest sons, Nicky and Euan, to the school while daughter Kathryn is believed to have joined in the sixth form. Earlier this year Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said his oldest son, 11-year-old Antonio, will join the school this autumn.

The London Oratory uses strict criteria to select pupils when it is over-subscribed. This involves giving points to candidates based on a number of elements starting with how often the child and his parents attend mass, followed by whether the child fulfils the Church’s requirements on baptism and whether they have received their first Holy Communion.

The fourth criterion sees points awarded based on whether the child or a Catholic parent has served in any Catholic parish or the wider Church. This could include reading or singing in the choir, playing an instrument, altar serving or flower arranging, assisting in parish work by visiting those in need, or getting involved in other activities such as voluntary work by visiting and helping sick or housebound people.

The British Humanist Association lodged an objection with the adjudicator over the service element, saying it breaches England’s admissions code.

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In a written ruling, the adjudicator said the school argued that the service criterion does not breach the code because the activities described are religious duties required by canon law.

Headmaster David McFadden told The Times: “The school reserves the right to appeal against this decision by a judicial review.”

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