Rabia School

Rabia School
Location
Portland Road Luton , Bedfordshire , LU4 8AX England
Coordinates	51°53′13″N0°26′28″W / 51.887°N 0.441°W / 51.887; -0.441
Information
Type	Private school
Religious affiliation	Muslim
Established	January 1996
Closed	September 2021
Department for Education URN	130331 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Gender	Girls/Boys (taught separately)
Age	2to 16
Enrolment	271 as of March 2016 [update]
Website	http://www.rabiaschool.uk/

Rabia School was a private Islamic faith school located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The school was owned and operated by a charitable trust (Rabia Education Trust). ^[1] It was the first Islamic school to offer secondary education in Bedfordshire.

History

Rabia School was established in January 1996 as a girls' school with seven pupils of primary age on the school register in a residential building. In October 2005 the school expanded by acquiring bigger premises for a boys school. The school then became a full-time primary and secondary independent school for girls and boys aged 5–16 years. There was a nursery school on the site for children aged 2–5.

Girls and boys attending the school were taught separately in different buildings. The school claimed to offer a mainstream education, but also had courses and subjects tailored to the Islamic faith. Special courses included Arabic, Urdu, as well as Aalim courses, and the chance for some pupils to memorise the whole of the Quran.

An Ofsted inspection in May 2014 rated the school as 'inadequate' and a monitoring inspection in January 2015 found that the school was still not meeting independent school standards. The inspections found that teaching was inadequate, and was undermining British values because of restricted educational opportunities for girls. The school claimed that it is addressing issues raised in the inspections. ^[2] The school had previously criticised the 2014 inspection report as being "strongly politically and media led...especially with the recent fallout of the alleged Trojan Horse inquiry in Birmingham". ^[3]

In April 2016 Ofsted chief Michael Wilshaw said that he had written to the Secretary of State for Education twice about Rabia School. The letters warn of serious concerns about staff segregation at the school, with male and female staff being segregated during meetings and training. While Wilshaw noted that the school had improved in many areas, he warned that staff segregation will prevent the school from moving up from an 'inadequate' rating. ^[4] In May 2016 the Charity Commission announced that it was formally investigating the school. ^[5]

In 2019 the school was banned from admitting new pupils. In November 2020 it was announced that the Department for Education would apply to close the school due to repeated failings. ^[6] The school appealed this decision, but it closed as a school in September 2021. ^[7]

References

1. "Rabia School - Luton". rabiaschool.uk.
2. "Luton Rabia School 'undermining British values' in treatment of girls". BBC News. 13 February 2015.
3. "Islamic faith school slammed for limiting girls to 'knitting and sewing'". Luton Today.
4. "Ofsted warns of Muslim school staff gender segregation". BBC News. 28 April 2016.
5. Sally Weale (24 May 2016). "Luton Islamic school trust investigated by charities regulator". The Guardian.
6. "Rabia School in Luton: 'Gender dividing' school to be closed down". BBC News. 12 November 2020.
7. Belger, Tom (14 October 2021). "Faith school which segregated staff finally shut down". Schools Week. Retrieved 21 October 2025.

External links

• Rabia Education Trust website