The OCR examination board has announced that it will not longer permit schools to edit or redact questions appearing on its papers.
The announcement follows investigations by the National Secular Society and the British Humanist Association which revealed that Yesodey Hatorah Jewish Voluntary Aided girls' secondary school in north London had redacted sections of GCSE science papers dealing with evolution. A further investigation by the BHA last week indicated that such censorship may have been carried out in other Charedi schools in Britain.
In a press release issued today, OCR states that the board has "now been able to consider our position and have concluded that as a matter of policy schools should not be permitted to tamper with question papers prior to a student sitting an exam".
The BHA's faith schools Richy Thompson has welcomed the announcement, saying that the "change of policy represents a victory of common sense over ignorance".
Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the NSS, said that the decision represents a "significant victory for the rights of children and young people to not have their education impeded by religious organisations seeking to pursue their own agenda of inculcation or indoctrination".
