Ofsted: Schools that segregate boys from girls may face fresh checks

Ofsted has told the Court of Appeal that if it wins its sex discrimination appeal, it will re-visit all schools that keep boys and girls apart

Last November, the High Court cleared Al-Hijrah, an Islamic mixed-sex faith school in Birmingham, of operating an unlawful policy of segregating the sexes from Year 5.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman is appealing the verdict, as the watchdog believes Al-Hijrah's policy of segregating boys from girls amounts to direct sex discrimination.

The judges were told that if the appeal was allowed, Ofsted would re-inspect all mixed-sex schools with segregation policies which might be breaching equality laws.