The Association of Teachers and Lecturers last week accused some faithschools of having closed admissions procedures by allocating a majorityof places "to those from their own faith community" and called for themto pass "community cohesion tests".
The union's general secretary Mary Bousted said: "We need schools thatembrace diversity within the community, not schools that divide pupilsand staff on religious grounds."
But a spokesman for the Church of England said they "took exception" tothe union's accusation that church schools were working againstencouraging social cohesion, and said it was "simply not true".
He said that the Church was already aiming for a quarter of new schoolsto be open to children from other faiths and those who had none. Headded that the church saw it as their duty to "educate the nation'schildren" and not just those of Anglican faith.
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