About 35% of the primary school places in Richmond are at voluntary aided schools
ryelrom, that's just the Richmond side of the river but it's more like 40% on the Twickenham side. One interesting local fact is that in the mid-19th century Lord Russell, president of the British and Foreign Schools Society, who lived in Pembroke lodge, gave his support to a couple of new non-denominational schools in Richmond/Ham, one of which bears his name. The organisation was set up to counterbalance the National Society which promoted Anglican schools.
Apologies if ChrisSquire has given this link before but here is a really informative history of schools in England. A few key moments:
1870 - the Act 'could have begun to separate church and state, as was happening in other countries' but with generous government funds for new buildings [about 50%] of cost, within 15 years, the number of CofE schools rose from 6,382 to 11,864, and RC schools from 350 to 892. In the same period, the number of children attending church schools doubled to two million.
1902 - 'The 1870 Act had taken 28 days to debate. The 1902 Act took 59, and most of that time was spent on the religious clauses.
1936 - the raising of the school leaving age caused capacity problems: building grants of 50-75% could be made to church schools 'provided that religious instruction was given in accordance with the LEA's syllabus and that the teachers were employed, appointed and dismissed by the LEA ... as a result, the Church of England submitted proposals for 230 new schools, the Catholic Church for 289.'
1944 - collective worship and religious instruction made compulsory and distinction made between voluntary aided schools (50% of building and maintenance funded by state) and voluntary controlled schools (100%). 1/3 of of the 9,000 CofE schools opted for VA status, and all the RC and Jewish schools.
1959 - 75% of capital costs funded by state
1967 - 80%
1974 - 85%
2001 - 90%