Boy-girl pupil divide ‘unlawful’

MIXED-SEX state schools that segregate boy and girl pupils are acting unlawfully, Appeal Court judges have said.

They ruled that it was sex discrimination in a case brought by watchdog Ofsted against the Al-Hijrah school, in Bordesley Green, Birmingham.

There are said to be around 20 religious mixed-sex state schools in England with strict segregation policies.

The judges said these now faced “real difficulties” and should be given time to “put their houses in order”.

They also said the Education Secretary and Ofsted had “de facto sanctioned a state of affairs which is unlawful”.