A Muslim school told girls that university was “not for them”, while boys were given first choice on work experience placements, an Ofsted report has found.

Redstone Academy, a private secondary school in Birmingham, "unlawfully segregated" boys and girls and female pupils were treated less favourably, inspectors found.

The independent school in Balsall Heath, which caters for 152 pupils aged 11-16 and charges fees of up to £3,085-a-year, did not provide girls with the same range of extra-curricular activities as boys.

The 13-page report, which rated the school as inadequate, added: "For example, boys can take part in ju-jitsu and football, whereas girls cannot.

"School trips are organised separately for boys and girls. Boys are treated in a preferential way. For example, boys are not required to wear their school uniform, but girls are. One group of pupils told us that a member of staff had told them that 'university is not for females'."

Ofsted found that the school was in breach of its duties under the 2010 Equality Act because it operates a policy of unlawful segregation by sex.

"Boys and girls are unlawfully segregated by sex for all school activities, except for weekly assemblies,” the report found.

“Boys enjoy school more than girls. This is because they are treated favourably and have more privileges. Boys have more opportunities to play sport.