Madani Schools Federation

Madani Schools Federation is a Muslim secondary school in Leicester, England. Based in the Evington neighbourhood, Madani Schools Federation caters for the city's Muslim population, with 300 places for boys and girls each. The building itself, designed by Leicester firm Pick Everard with an Islamic design including an Arabic-style courtyard. There is also an associated community centre and madrassa.

Madani Schools Federation
Address
77 Evington Valley Road

Leicester
,
Leicestershire
,
LE5 5LL

England
Coordinates52°37′42″N 1°05′58″W
Information
TypeVoluntary aided school
Religious affiliation(s)Islam
FounderLIA Trust
Local authorityLeicester
HeadteacherRiyaz Laher
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 16
Enrolment600
Colour(s)Navy Blue and Black
Websitehttp://www.madani.leicester.sch.uk

The school has also won architectural awards including the Community Benefit award in the regional finals of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors awards in May 2008 and competed in the international finals in the autumn.[1] It is the first state funded Muslim school in the East-Midlands, as 90% of the £18m came from the government, with the Muslim community in Leicester raising the rest.[2] The school has received much press attention as a Muslim secondary school where it is held up as a model for faith schools.[3]

Concerns and criticism

There has been controversy when it was announced that non-Muslim girls would be required to wear the hijab.[4]

The school was criticised after backtracking on an earlier commitments that it would take 10% of its intake from a non-Muslim background. The Headteacher now states that this will only happen once demand from the Muslim community is met.[5] This is in part because in its first year the school received no applications from non-Muslim families.[6]

The school's strict gender segregation policies have also been criticised. The school is divided into two separate wings, one for boys and the other for girls, connected by a central foyer. Boys are only taught by male staff and girls only taught by female staff.[7] The school has separate staff rooms for male and female staff and separate dining rooms for boys and girls.

References
  1. "High School Hopes". Leicestermercury.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  2. Multi Faith schools BBC report October 2007
  3. "The Times & The Sunday Times". Thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2018. (subscription required)
  4. "New policy at Madani High School requires non-Muslim girls to wear hijabs". Wikinews. 14 October 2006.
  5. "And How Does Madani High School Fit The Community Cohesion Agenda? | National Secular Society". Secularism.org.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  6. Islamic School Criticised. "Leicester - Faith - Islamic School Criticised". BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  7. "Divided by faith: inside the segregated Madani schools". Channel4.com. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
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