Surrey County Council (SCC) is reconsidering proposals for a Church of England takeover of a nonreligious school amid widespread parental opposition.

Earlier this year, SCC consulted on plans which would see the nonreligious Merrow Junior School merged with Merrow CofE Controlled Infant School.

Despite Merrow Junior School being the larger of the two schools, the resulting school would be a Christian faith school called Merrow CofE Primary School. The consultation did not include a merged school with no religious character as an option.

But newly published consultation results show parents in Guildford overwhelmingly oppose the plan. The plans were also opposed by the National Secular Society and local politicians.

In response, SCC has now launched a second consultation which does include a merged school with no religious character as an option.

If the faith school takeover did proceed, Merrow CofE Primary could legally discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring, paying and promoting up to one fifth of staff. One quarter of its governors would be appointed by the Church, and its religious education (RE) would be inspected by a religious body, rather than Ofsted.

Secular school would ‘better reflect diverse local community’

The consultation analysis revealed:

• 90% of parents whose child might attend the merged school in the future oppose the plans
• 66% of parents at other local schools oppose the plans
• 57% of parents at Merrow Junior oppose the plans

The analysis said the CofE designation of the amalgamated school was the “most contentious issue of the consultation, cited in 67% of all comments”.

A “significant majority” said the move was “not representative of the local community”, with many referring to the 2021 Census which showed a further decline in Christianity and an increase in irreligiosity and religious diversity.

Respondents highlighted that an amalgamated school without a religious designation would “better reflect the beliefs and preferences of Merrow’s diverse local community”. Only a “small number” supported the CofE designation.

‘Failure of transparency’

Many stakeholders expressed frustration that the consultation felt “extremely biased”and there was a “failure of transparency”.

A recurring comment was that the consultation referred to the CofE designation as “the only option which provides a viable solution”, yet it “provides no evidence that alternatives were assessed or why they were ruled out”.

This lack of evidence was described as “concerning”, with one respondent highlighting that a consultation “should be supported by a clear and open options appraisal”.

Several respondents said there was no way to express support for amalgamation while opposing the religious designation.

Pledge to protect secular ethos “discarded”

The NSS noted in its consultation response that parents at Merrow Junior (then called Bushy Hill) were promised in 2022 that the school would “not become a Church school”.

Other respondents also referred to this “perceived breach of trust”. The analysis said there is “a clear level of frustration” that the pledge “is now being discarded”.

The NSS also warned that the Church will “inevitably” try to convert children to Christianity at an amalgamated faith school.

As part of its 2020 strategy, the Church openly states its goal “to double the number of children and young people in congregations by 2030”. It said it will use schools to help achieve this, including schools unaffiliated with the Church. The Church has assigned £236m over the next three years to this end.

NSS: ‘Consultation results speak for themselves’

National Secular Society spokesperson Alejandro Sanchez said: “These consultation results speak for themselves.

“Surrey County Council is right to listen to the overwhelming opposition to the faith school takeover and explore genuine alternatives, including a merged school with no religious character.

“We will respond to this consultation in support of retaining Merrow Junior’s inclusive, nonreligious character”.