BRADFORD – A British Islamic school in Bradford has been praised by government inspectors for the “outstanding” behavior of its pupils, giving examples to other schools and following the lead of a successful legacy in the UK.

“Pupils’ understanding of British values is exceptional and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school,” inspectors said about Eternal Light School, The Telegraph And Argus reported on April 18.

Eternal Light School, off Little Horton Lane is an independent school with around 150 pupils.

A report from the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) about the school has just been released, rating the school “good” overall.

However, the school was given the top rating of outstanding for personal development, behavior and welfare.

In the newly published report, inspectors added, “Teachers are successful in ensuring that the school is a thriving learning community. The school provides a good quality of education that successfully combines Islamic studies with secular subjects.”

“The proprietors are determined to ensure that the boys become positive Muslim role models in British society,” the report stated.

Ofsted is a non-ministerial department of the UK government, reporting to Parliament via the Department for Education.

It’s responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, including state schools and some independent schools. It also inspects childcare, adoption and fostering agencies and initial teacher training, and regulates a range of early years and children’s social care services.

According to The Guardian, there are around 140 Muslim faith schools in the UK, twelve of them being state-funded. These schools regularly outperform those of other faiths.

For example, The Telegraph reported in 2008 that 86.5 per cent of pupils attending Muslim schools achieved five GCSEs, compared to a figure of only 72.8 per cent of Roman Catholic schools and 64.5 per cent of secular schools.

According to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School in Blackburn with Darwen was ranked first in 2016 in the Government’s new Progress 8 league table, with Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School coming in second place.

According to the Association of Muslim Schools, the UK has different types of schools; Madrassas are those religious schools which are attached to mosques, while Full-time Muslim schools aren’t focused on the recitation of the Holy Qur’an.

For years, independent Islamic schools remained at the top score of UK GCSE results, setting example for faith schools as successful, highly-achieving and inspiring educational institutes in Britain.

The Muslim schools overall average of students who received 5 or more A*- C grade GCSEs, including English & Maths, exceeded the national average with 9 schools achieving a 100% success rate – only 55 schools achieved the 100% landmark in the whole of the UK.