HC Deb 03 March 2004 vol 418 cc1009-10W
Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of bids for specialist school status made by(a) faith schools, (b) non-faith schools, (c) faith schools with a comprehensive intake, (d) non-faith schools with a comprehensive intake, (e) Church of England schools, (f) Roman Catholic schools, (g) grammar schools and (h) Roman Catholic grammar schools have been successful. [157751]

Mr. Miliband [holding answer 1 March 2004]

The following table shows specialist school applications over the last two years.

Specialist school applications
Type of school Number of

applications1

 Percentage of

applications

successful

Faith schools 249 58.2
Non-faith schools 1,179 60.4
Faith schools with a comprehensive intake 217 66.8
Non-faith schools with a comprehensive intake 1,036 59.9
Church of England schools 71 56.3
Roman Catholic schools 172 58.7
Grammar schools 87 70.1
Roman Catholic grammar schools 27 14.3
1These figures include some schools which have applied on more than one occasion.
2Given the small sample size, this data should be interpreted with caution.

The selection process for the Specialist Schools Programme is robust and transparent.

It is open to all maintained secondary schools and our aim is that all schools that are ready should become specialist.

All unsuccessful applicant schools receive detailed written feedback based on independent assessments. The Specialist Schools Trust and Youth Sport Trust provide a range of support to these and other aspiring specialist schools.