Rather than being held up as a model for its high educational standards, the Michaela Community School in Wembley routinely finds itself the object of snide public criticism and ideologically motivated opposition. Though, according to the Department for Education’s “Progress 8” index, it is the best state school in the country, the school’s disciplinarian methods, emphasis on traditional values and unashamedly secular ethos reliably rankle a certain progressive sensibility.
On Tuesday the school saw off its most recent challenge when the High Court in London dismissed a case brought by an unnamed student who claimed that the school’s ban on prayer during school hours unlawfully discriminated against Muslim pupils. In a welcome ruling, the court upheld the right of the school, which is non-religious, to
