UK’s second state-funded Hindu school soon

London : Britain would soon get its second state-funded Hindu school in the east Midlands town of Leicester, which has a large population of Indian origin, with the David Cameron government approving a proposal in this regard today.

The first state-funded Hindu school in Britain, Krishna Avanti Primary School, was set up in 2008 in the London suburb of Harrow. The I-Foundation, the educational charity organisation behind Krishna Avanti Primary School, will also set up the new school in Leicester.

The new school is to be launched in 2011. The proposal for the Hindu school in Leicester was one of 16 approved today by the Department for Education as in the running to open in 2011.

The I-Foundation’s Directors will now submit a successful business plan to the department over the next month to win final approval. The Leicester school is to be located in Evington and will provide 420 places for children aged 4-11 years old.

A suitable site has been identified and an offer accepted for its purchase, which will allow the school to open to its first 60 pupils in a year’s time. The Leicester state primary school will draw heavily for its ethos, curriculum, teaching and leadership on the success of the school in Harrow.

An official inspection of the Harrow school praised it for having “many outstanding features”. The pupils’ attainment is “above average” and their behaviour “first rate”. It also praises their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as “outstanding” concluding: “Their joy in coming to school is very evident” and the school’s Hindu traditions “support fully the ethos of a 21st century British primary where academic excellence is as important as religious aura.”

Project Director for the Leicester school, Pradip Gajjar, said: “There is huge demand for a state Hindu school locally, one which offers both outstanding academic opportunities, as well as providing a spiritual and moral framework which reflects Hindu values”.

“The I-Foundation already has a proven track record of success and delivering on our promises, and we are expecting to be able to replicate our previous successes here”. In keeping with the school’s commitment to openness and inclusivity only half the places will be awarded on faith-based criteria with the other half going to local residents living near the school, regardless of religion or background.