Sikh girl denied free school bus 'because of her religion'

An education authority is examining its policy on free school transport after a Sikh pupil was turned down because of her religion.

Mandeep Ladhar's parents, Gurmit and Jaswinder, chose to send her to the St Benet Biscop Roman Catholic high school in Bedlington, North-umberland, instead of the local comprehensive because there was no Sikh school near by and they wanted the "better, stricter" education they believed faith schools offered.

But though other pupils whose parents have made the same decision are granted free bus travel, she is denied it because new council rules say that outside the local catchment area it can only be granted to Catholic children.

The Ladhars, who run a shop in North Seaton, five miles from Bedlington, said they were seeking legal advice on Northumberland County Council's ruling.

The policy is also understood to have affected two of the girl's cousins who had received free travel to St Benet Biscop before the policy review. Mandeep's brother Gurjit said: "She is not being treated in the same way as other pupils who travel more than three miles to the school because she is a Sikh and not a Roman Catholic. We believe she is being discriminated against because of her religion.

"If they provide this service for other pupils whose parents want a faith education then why not for her?

"This is not about the cost of paying for Mandeep to be taken to school, it is a matter of principle."

A spokesman for Northumberland County Council conceded the case had raised a "thorny issue" involving religious, racial and human rights and said the policy was being "appraised" by lawyers and by the Department for Education and Skills.

A Commission for Racial Equality spokeswoman said: "We would have thought the education authority would have assessed how provision of transport could impact on racial equality."