A COLLEGE principal has welcomed a Government U-turn on plans to force faith schools to take a quarter of all pupils from other backgrounds.

Education Secretary Alan Johnson has confirmed the Government will abandon plans to force new faith schools to select up to 25 per cent of their intake from pupils of other faith backgrounds or those with no religious beliefs.

He said during talks there had been a "consensus among all faith groups" that "every school whether faith or non-faith should have a duty to promote community cohesion."

And Kevin McMahon principal at St Mary's College, Blackburn, said the Government had made the right decision.

Speaking at the Roman Catholic sixth form college's annual prize night last night, he said: "In the last few weeks we have seen controversy arising from the intention to impose quotas of other faiths on faith schools, in a move intended to promote social cohesion'.

"This disregards the fact that across the country, Catholic schools are more reflective of the social and ethnic mix of the communities in which they are set than the majority of state schools.

"Quite rightly, this move was shelved after negotiation, not, as our more sensational media would have, because of the intervention and interference of the Catholic hierarchy, but because it was, as much hasty legislation is, ill thought out and heavy-handed."

He also praised students for a successful year borne out by a glowing report from Ofsted inspectors and the college getting Beacon status.

The Department of Education and Skills awards are only given to the best-performing colleges in the country who have to demonstrate good performance in education and training.