The Bishop of Oxford has said councils should not be afraid to let faith schools expand.

The Rt Rev John Pritchard made his comments after a study by think-tank Theos claimed debates about faith schools had become too “ideologically-loaded”.

Bishop John warned that campaign groups such as the British Humanist Association made local authorities wary of allowing faith schools to expand.

He said: “Rather than continually adopting the battleground approach, which often leads to a reticence on the part of local authorities to expand faith school provision, a better way would be to celebrate the quality, popularity and success of faith schools and seek to expand them.”