Alice Roberts, a professor at Birmingham University who presents BBC documentaries, has been criticised by her own mother for fronting an ‘antagonistic’ campaign by Humanists UK to end state funding of faith schools. Her mother Wendy, who taught for many years in faith schools, took the highly unusual step of writing to the Sunday Times to say that such schools ‘have been and still are a most benign benefit’, and she was embarrassed and upset by her daughter’s decision. Meanwhile, in a list of 500 top primary schools issued by the Sunday Times, nearly half are faith-based (mostly Catholic or CofE), vying with top fee-paying private schools. The news comes as ministers press ahead with plans to create many new Catholic-only schools in 2019, despite protests from critics. See https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/best-uk-schools-guide-church-schools-challenge-top-fee-paying-preps-9vdj725tn