Nadine Osman
This year, Liverpool will welcome its first Muslim high school, offering a broad and balanced academic curriculum and welcoming students of all faiths.
The plans to establish the new Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy were approved in August by the Department of Education, along with 15 other new schools across the country.
Cllr Lila Bennett, Cabinet Member for Employment, Educational Attainment, and Skills, said: “The decision by the DfE that Star Academies has been successful in its application to open a new secondary school in Liverpool will support the city in providing sufficient school places in the coming years.
“The council will continue to work with partners towards identifying a suitable site for the school.”
“Wherever they live and whatever their background, children deserve a high-quality education,” Sir Hamid Patel, CBE, Chief Executive of Star Academies, said in a statement to The Muslim News.
“We are delighted that our application to open a new secondary school has been approved. Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, Liverpool, will help unlock the potential of thousands of young people in Merseyside.
“The government’s free schools programme continues to inject innovation and creativity into the school system. We are delighted our new school will be part of the latest programme, and we look forward to working with our local partners and communities to enable more young people in Liverpool to receive the quality of education and aspirational opportunities they deserve.”
As the first Islamic school in the city, Eden Girls will create 800 spaces for girls aged between 11 and 18.
The school will be established in the city by Star Academies, a not-for-profit multi-academy trust that runs schools across the country.
Star Academies current portfolio of schools, including Tauheedul Islam Girls School in Blackburn, Eden Boys School in Birmingham, and Eden Girls School in Coventry, had the highest pupil progress scores in the country.
In April 2019, Manchester Islamic High School for Girls was rated outstanding for the third consecutive year in its latest glowing Ofsted report.
In November 2019, eight Muslim faith schools were recognised among the top 20 schools in Britain for academic progress in 2019 in the published GCSE league tables for 2019.
