Supportive Parents raise Muslim girls to top of progress list

Salam/Peace:

By Liz Lightfoot, Education Correspondent
(Filed: 13/01/2005)

The first state-funded Islamic school in the country has topped the league table for the progress of pupils.

Muslim girls at Feversham College, Bradford, showed more improvement between the ages of 11 when they entered the school and 16 when they sat GCSEs last year than at any other state school.

The commitment of Muslim families to education was a strong factor in the school's success alongside its moral ethos which encouraged good behaviour and hard work, said educationalists.

Although the head teacher and some of the staff are not Muslims, the school provides education within the context of the Islamic Sunni faith in an all-female environment.

Feversham was started as a private school 20 years ago by parents who wanted a Muslim education for their children but were also motivated by disappointment with low standards at Bradford's comprehensives.

Read the whole article at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/13/nscho113.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/13/ixhome.html