THE North West's first Muslim state school opened today.

Previously privately-run Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School, Shear Brow, Blackburn, has reopened under local authority control making it only the sixth state-funded Islamic high school in Britain.

Its reincarnation as a voluntary-aided school, like the town's three church schools, means it will join Blackburn with Darwen' Council's family' of schools.

The all-girls school got council approval for its plans in January 2004.

It cleared its final hurdle last year after the School Organisation Committee (SOC) an independent body representing all those involved in education locally approved the plan.

The decision to move from a fee-paying school into the state sector followed a council report stating there was a growing trend for Muslim parents to place children in independent Muslim schools and the only way to ensure better links with the community was to provide a Muslim school within the local education authority.

Blackburn's education boss Coun Dave Hollings said: "This is a direct response to the clear desire of local Muslim parents for an Islamic faith state school in the borough.

"Tauheedul already provides a very good education for its pupils and works closely with many of our existing schools. I hope they continue to go from strength to strength as part of our family of schools."

Almost 300 children are on roll this year as it remains on its present site in Bicknell Street but the council has confirmed the school will eventually move to a new site and double pupil numbers within the next five years.

The school will now receive the same level of support as all other publicly-funded schools and will also be subject to the same national curriculum guidelines and inspection regime.

From today the school will follow the admissions policy set out in legislation and the local education authority's (LEA) Code of Practice.

A six-period, 8.30am to 1.30pm day has been replaced with a more traditional timetable.

Mubaaruck Ibrahim has been drafted in as headteacher and will oversee the school's 20 staff.

Mr Ibrahim joins the school after a 12-month stint as deputy head at Blackburn's Blakewater College, which itself reopened in the same building last year after Queen's Park High School was shut after recording some of the worst GCSE results in the country.

Governors chairman Kam Kothia said the school would "build on the very strong links and relationships we already have with other Blackburn with Darwen schools".