MORE than 300 children in Bradford have been given places at state faith schools against their families' wishes, according to new figures.

But Bradford Council revealed it recorded an overall increase in the number of youngsters that secured their first preference primary or secondary school for September.

New analysis from the National Secular Society (NSS) showed that 332 children are set to go to a state faith school in Bradford for the new academic year, despite their families either expressing a preference for a non-faith option, or not selecting a state faith school in their choices at all.

This consists of 140 at primary level and 192 at secondary level.

There were 61 families who did not select a state faith school at all in their child's options, while 271 children are heading to a state faith school even though they would prefer not to.

More than a quarter of state-funded schools in Bradford (26.2 per cent) are faith schools, which is just under the national average of 33.8 per cent.

The NSS has released the data as part of its ongoing project , “The Choice Delusion”, which highlights some of the ways faith schools restrict school choice in England.

The NSS argues for an end to state-funded faith schools as part of its work to separate religion and state.

This year the society has found that more than 20,000 pupils across the country have been assigned to faith schools against their parents’ preferences.

This means more than 153,000 pupils have been assigned to faith schools despite a non-faith preference since 2014.

NSS head of education, Alastair Lichten, said: “Proponents of faith schools often argue that they are good for parental choice, but these figures show how flawed that argument is.

“It shouldn’t be acceptable for families’ right to freedom of religion and belief to be undermined when they simply want their children to go to community schools which educate children from all faiths and none together.

“It’s time policymakers seriously engaged with this issue.

"They should take steps to ensure every pupil’s ability to access a secular education. And they should confront the narrative that parental choice justifies the segregation, discrimination and promotion of religion inherent in England’s schools.”

But Bradford Council states it tries "very hard" to make sure families secure their preferred places where possible and there has been an increase in those getting their first choice from the last academic year.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: “We understand how much it means to families to secure a place for their child at their preferred school and try very hard to achieve this where possible.

“This year we recorded an increase in the number of families that were allocated their first preference primary or secondary school.

"A total of 97.5 per cent of families were offered a place at one of their top three choices of primary school and more than 93 per cent of families were allocated a secondary school they preferred.

“We continue to work hard to ensure our schools have the capacity to meet the demand for places."