Anglican Schools will Require Church Attendance for Admission

Church of England guidelines will require that parents who want their children to gain places at popular Anglican schools should go to church with their families at least twice a month.

The new guidance, to be issued by the Church to its 4,700 schools in November, follows criticism that admission procedures lack clarity and favour the middle classes.

But the rules will be flexible so that parents who are unable to go to church on Sunday but can demonstrate their Christian commitment in other ways will not be excluded.

The government's proposed new admissions code, published last month, banned faith schools from interviewing parents but asked them to outline how "religious affiliation or commitment is to be demonstrated".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, promised to end the confusion surrounding admissions to Church of England schools in a speech in March.

He rejected claims that faith schools were a way for middle-class parents to avoid fees. But in an effort to offset criticisms that some schools unfairly cream off the best pupils he called for national criteria to be drawn up.

Many parents start involving themselves in their local church after years of neglect, as they are known to go to extreme lengths to gain places for their children in oversubscribed Church of England schools.

At some schools, parents can gain "points" by regular church attendance or by undertaking extra activities such as flower arranging, hosting coffee mornings or joining the parish council.

Church officials are keen to move away from such methods because they can discriminate against single mothers or families where one parent refuses to become involved.

Many families will nevertheless see the guidelines as a high hurdle as Anglicans often regard themselves as committed Christians even if they go to church once a month or less.