EAST Lancashire has a high proportion of church schools - both Church of England and Roman Catholic - compared with many other parts of the country.

And this has been a major plank in the case of those who argue in favour of the introduction of state-aided Muslim schools.

Others say that schools which separate children according to their religion are not the way forward because our society already has too many divisions.

Integration and understanding of differences is better achieved through children mixing in the classroom.

It is difficult however to find logical arguments for a church school system in which some admissions might be based on deception.

Competition to get into high-achieving church secondary schools is fierce and diocesan director of education Canon Peter Ballard is urging vicars to closely check attendance forms because it is feared that some parents are forging clergy signatures to get places for their youngsters.

Such abuse brings the selection system into disrepute and must be stopped. If church schools are to continue to prosper, procedures need to be transparent.

Admission should be fairly based on stated principles rather than the ability of some parents to fiddle the system in order to get their children what they perceive to be a better education.