THE number of Darlington students securing good GCSE results for religious studies has fallen below the national average, a report has revealed.

Representatives from the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) will meet this month to discuss the town’s trend with less than half of secondary school pupils taking on Religious Education (RE).

Figures published ahead of the SACRE meeting show that Darlington has gradually slipped five per cent behind the national average for students achieving A* to C grades in the subject.

Of 1,189 Darlington students on roll, less than half of those chose to enter the religious studies GCSE, with only 67.2 per cent securing solid passes after their final exams – compared to the 72.2 per cent nationwide average.

The authority report states: “The religious studies full GSCE A* to C results have declined over the last three years and are five per cent below the national average.

“However, the A* to G results have improved since 2014 and are now 0.5 per cent above the national average.

“Take up for the religious studies full GCSE has been around 45 to 50 per cent of the total cohort for the last three years.

“One school has a small number of Key Stage 4 students undertaking an AS level, whilst another school has entered students for either the full GCSE, the short GCSE or the Equivalent or Lower Qualification (ELQ) in religious studies.”

Of seven Darlington secondary schools included in the report, denominational schools recorded nearly all students taking on RE, compared to just 0.9 per cent of GCSE students at another school.

Also on the SACRE agenda for the meeting in Darlington Borough Council’s Town Hall is an Independent Commission that has been established to recommend changes to overhaul RE.

The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, chair of the Independent Commission, said: “Religion is a powerful force for good in our world, and the perversion of it a powerful force for evil.

“If our society and our world are to benefit from the good and to avoid the evil, it is vital that children develop religious literacy and come to understand religious perceptions and motivations.

“They need to learn about their own religious or non-religious beliefs and practices and attitudes and learn to respect those of their fellow human beings.”

Members of the public are welcome to the meeting at 4pm on Monday, October 10.