State Funding for Primary School Mandating Hijabs in North London 2026

Key Points

• Barnet Hill Academy in West Hendon, North London, has changed from an independent primary school to a state-funded Voluntary Aided school.
• The school’s uniform policy requires girls aged seven and older, from Year 3 to Year 6, to wear a plain white hijab.
• Under Voluntary Aided status, the school has the legal authority to select up to 100 per cent of its pupils and staff based on faith.
• National Secular Society Chief Executive Stephen Evans condemned using public money for mandatory religious dress for pre-pubescent children.
• Barnet Council defended the decision, saying the uniform policy is legal and meets demand for Islamic state education in the area.
• An unelected council officer signed off on the decision instead of bringing it to a full council debate.

Newham (East London Times) September 3, 2026 – An independent Islamic primary school that enforces a mandatory hijab policy for female pupils as young as seven years old has formally entered the state-funded sector, triggering a fierce national debate regarding gender equality, religious freedom, and public expenditure. Barnet Hill Academy, situated in West Hendon, North London, has transitioned to Voluntary Aided (VA) status, making it almost entirely funded by UK taxpayers while retaining significant autonomy over its governance, staffing, and religious dress codes.

What Is the Controversy Surrounding Barnet Hill Academy’s New Funding Status?

As reported by political columnist Khadija Khan of spiked, the transition of Barnet Hill Academy into a state-funded institution marks a concerning precedent for primary education in Great Britain. Khan noted that the school requires young girls to wear hijabs from Year 3 (age seven) upwards, imposing Islamic dress codes in the name of moral standards that critics view as deeply discriminatory and inherently misogynistic. Khan argued that the decision

“makes a mockery of the hard-earned freedoms and liberties – particularly gender equality – that are woven into the British way of life.”

The institution’s published uniform guidelines confirm that a plain white hijab is compulsory for girls in Years 3 and 4, while those in Years 5 and 6 must wear a hijab alongside a jilbab or an ankle-length skirt.

As reported by legal and legislative monitoring services at Legislation Tracker, the official designation ordering the institution’s religious character came into effect in late August 2026, establishing its Sunni Islamic (Ahl-al-Sunnah) educational framework within the public sector.

How Have Secular Groups and Campaigners Reacted to Public Funds Being Used?

As reported by The Daily Telegraph and The Express, campaign groups have raised immediate legal and ethical objections to the council’s decision.

As quoted by Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of the National Secular Society (NSS), in a formal letter to local authority executives:

“It is appalling that taxpayers are being asked to fund a school that forces girls as young as seven to wear the hijab. Women should be free to choose religious dress; young girls should not have it imposed upon them. It also beggars belief that public money is being committed to a religiously selective school when pupil numbers are falling and no clear need for additional places has been demonstrated”.

The NSS further highlighted procedural anomalies, pointing out that the decision was signed off by Barnet Council’s Executive Director of Children’s Services, John Anthony, as an officer-delegated key decision rather than being subjected to open scrutiny by elected council members.

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What Is the Defense Provided by Barnet Council and School Authorities?

As reported by Brussels Signal, Barnet Council has maintained that the approval process followed all appropriate statutory channels and complies fully with UK equality legislation.

A spokesperson for Barnet Council stated:

“Barnet prides itself on the diverse nature of our school landscape. The school’s uniform policy is legally compliant, and its inclusive policies support the elimination of discrimination and the advancement of equality of opportunity”.

The local authority highlighted that while Barnet is home to over 47,000 Muslim residents—comprising approximately 12 per cent of the borough’s population—it previously possessed no state-funded Islamic schools, despite maintaining 15 Voluntary Aided Church of England schools, as well as Roman Catholic and Jewish faith institutions. The council argued that granting Voluntary Aided status rectifies an imbalance, offering local Muslim families equal access to state-backed faith education.

According to official FAQs published on Barnet Hill Academy’s website, the school adheres to the National Curriculum while integrating faith ethos across subjects. The school administration noted that voluntary parental contributions would continue to be requested to support specific Islamic studies modules and facility upgrades that local authority grants do not cover.

Background of the Development

The debate over the Islamic veil in British primary schools has been a contentious issue within public policy for nearly a decade. In 2018, Neena Lall, then-headteacher of St Stephen’s Primary School in Newham, East London, introduced a policy banning pupils under the age of eight from wearing the hijab and restricting religious fasting on school premises. The policy was designed to support integration and ensure young children were not subjected to religious mandates before reaching the age of discretion.

However, following intense community backlash, online petitions, and severe personal threats directed at school staff, the governing body overturned the decision, leading to a public retraction. Since the St Stephen’s incident, the Department for Education (DfE) has maintained a decentralized stance, allowing individual school governing bodies to determine their uniform policies provided they comply with the Equality Act 2010.

Barnet Hill Academy has operated as an independent, fee-paying fee school in West Hendon for over two decades. Financial disclosures from recent years indicated that the independent school had experienced recurring annual operating deficits. The transition to state-maintained Voluntary Aided status guarantees that the state assumes responsibility for staff salaries and core operational costs, relieving direct tuition fee burdens from parents while requiring the school to expand pupil enrollment significantly to achieve long-term financial stability.

Prediction: How This Development May Affect the Wider Community

The integration of Barnet Hill Academy into the state sector under a mandatory hijab rule is likely to create significant ripple effects across multiple sections of British society:

1. Primary School Pupils and Gender Equality

For young female pupils, the institutionalization of mandatory religious dress at age seven sets a legal precedent within state education. Women’s rights advocacy groups argue that enforcing religious modesty codes on pre-pubescent girls creates an unequal educational environment where female pupils are treated differently from their male peers from an early age, potentially impeding personal autonomy.

2. Taxpayers and Secular Education Advocates

Taxpayers across the UK, particularly those advocating for strict secularism in public institutions, may challenge local authorities through judicial reviews. The approval of state funding for faith-selective schools with strict dress requirements may prompt increased scrutiny of how local councils allocate educational budgets, particularly in regions where overall primary school student numbers are declining.

3. Religious Minority Communities and Faith Schools

For conservative faith communities, the ruling establishes a legal pathway for other independent religious institutions—including Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Islamic schools—to transition into the state sector while retaining strict traditional codes of conduct and admissions preferences. Conversely, it may deepen social segregation if state-funded schools increasingly divide students along religious lines rather than fostering integrated community learning environments.