Al-Hijrah Islamic school to axe secondary years

Parents have been informed of the proposed changes

Secondary years are set to be axed at a failing Islamic school due to its illegal segregation of girls and boys.

Only primary-aged pupils will be taught at Birmingham City Council-funded Al-Hijrah in Bordesley by September 2019.

Parents of Year 6 pupils have been told to apply to other schools for the next academic year.

The Interim Executive Board (IEB), which is currently in charge, said it was likely there would be "an impact on staffing levels".

Al-Hijrah would become a sponsored academy and was likely to be re-named, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The council-appointed IEB proposed the plans, which are in the consultation stages, to reduce the age range from four to 16 to four to 11.

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They also involve relocating to a remodelled site on Waverley Road, the former annexe to Small Heath School.

The council has stated it would use powers to offer alternative Year 7 places for next September and for those students already in Years 7 to 10.

There are two boys-only Islamic secondary schools in the city and the authority is also working up a separate proposal to establish a new single-sex school for girls with an Islamic ethos by September.

The council has stated it would use powers to offer alternative places for secondary students

A joint letter from Al-Hijrah head teacher Arshad Mohammad and IEB chair Julie Young said: "We appreciate this may be an unsettling time for families but we are confident that our proposals will ensure children at Al-Hijrah receive high quality education with an Islamic ethos."

The board said any staff reductions or changes to terms and conditions would be "subject to full consultation with the trade unions and teaching associations".

Ofsted rated the school inadequate in 2016.

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Last year Court of Appeal judges ruled the school was discriminating against its pupils contrary to the Equality Act.

The IEB chair said the proposal was "something that has to be done" to comply with a court order and "the academy directive".

Conservative Ken Wood, shadow education and skills spokesman at the council, said: "You only get one chance at a good education, and shamefully many children at Al-Hijrah will have been denied that chance."