Al-Hijrah Islamic segregation school appeal bid refused

Boys and girls were found completely separated for lessons, breaks, trips and clubs from the age of nine

A bid to appeal a ruling of unlawful sex discrimination at an Islamic faith school has been rejected.

Al-Hijrah school in Birmingham was found guilty of sex discrimination in October for segregating children in all activities from the age of nine.

An application by the Association of Muslim Schools (AMS) to appeal the Court of Appeal's ruling to the Supreme Court was refused on Tuesday.

The school does not support the AMS's desire to overturn the ruling.

Midlands Live: 'Arson attack' at Amazon warehouse; Julie Walters to be made a dame at Buckingham Palace

The association's request to appeal was rejected by judges at the Court of Appeal who said the school accepted the October ruling and was working with Birmingham City Council, which maintains the school, to implement the decision on segregation.

'Foster uncertainty'

"The school does not encourage or support the desire of AMS to appeal in order to overturn the decision," the judges said.

They added that even if the association's bid had not been rejected, "an appeal would have no real prospect of success".

An application to the Supreme Court on the Court of Appeal's ruling would "foster uncertainty... for the council and the claimant school [Al-Hijrah] which accept and wish to implement our decision," the judges said.

Al-Hijrah school was placed in special measures by Ofsted after it was rated inadequate in 2016.

The school's segregation policy failed "to prepare [children] for life in modern Britain," according to Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools.