Christian schools planned in Muslim areas of UK

The UK government is planning to counter segregation in some cities by setting up Christian and other free schools in Muslim-dominated areas, a media report said on Sunday.

The so-called "integrated" schools could be run by organisations such as the Church of England and enrol pupils from Christian, Muslim and other faiths, alleviating the risks of children growing up in segregated "parallel" communities, the Sunday Times reported.

"There is work going on with the Department for Education (DfE) to create more integrated schools in areas where schools have a very high concentration of a particular ethnic group," the newspaper said, citing government sources.

"It is part of a new integration strategy across the UK into how we use the free school provision to create new schools with more mixed intakes across class as well as ethnic background."

Muslim-dominated areas such as Oldham, Birmingham and Derby in England are feared to be at risk of being cut off from British values and vulnerable to alienation and radicalisation from Islamist extremist and far-right ideologies.

The plans, being drawn up by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the DfE, follow the publication of a report into opportunity and integration by Dame Louise Casey.

New plans will be announced in government's response to Casey's review in the next few weeks.