Islamia Primary School was founded in October 1983 by Yusuf Islam, the singer/songwriter who was known as Cat Stevens until his conversion to Islam in 1978.[2] In 1998, the school was the first Muslim school in Britain to be granted public funding by the Government.[3] This funding was secured after a campaign of thirteen years and several rejections of their applications for voluntary state aid.[4]
Prince Charles visited to officially inaugurate the school's voluntary aided status on 10 May 2000.[5] He praised their approach of providing both secular and religious education.[6]
The school applied, in September 2010, for permission to construct an £8 million extension including a new two-storey building. It would be funded jointly by Brent Council, the school and the government.[7] The scheme, designed by Marks Barfield, was granted planning permission in December 2010 but has proved controversial with residents groups threatening to take legal action to stop it.[8] Brent Council announced, in November 2013, that the development had been included in Phase 3 of their Permanent Primary School Expansion project.[9]
Academic education
The school is two form entry with approximately 420 pupils aged between the ages of 4 and 11. The school was intended to have 10% non-Muslim pupils.[3] It has 210 official places[citation needed] and 3,500 pupils on the waiting list.[3] Islamia follows the national curriculum supplemented with classes on religion and studies of the Arabic language.[10]
The Ofsted inspection on 2013 rated the school as "Good", point 2 on a four-point scale.[11] Ofsted reported positively on the school community, and the way that the children were engaged in their learning.[12] In 2022 the Ofsdted inspection marked the school as "Inadequate."[13]
In 2013, the school won the Global Peace and Unity Education Award for Excellence, for UK primary schools.[14]
