DOZENS of Church of England secondary schools could be built in the region as part of the Government's drive to improve standards in education.

A report out yesterday recommended that the Church spearheads a £25m campaign to help fund an increase in primary school provision and the equivalent of 100 new secondary schools. The report, led by Lord Dearing, said creating extra secondary schools would help reduce the mismatch between demand and provision for Church of England schools.

Three new Church of England schools are planned for the North-East: All Saints School, at Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, in two years time; Henry Smith School, in Hartlepool, to be renamed St Hilda's in September after being taken over by the Church of England; and a new school on part of Ryhope Golf Course, near Sunderland, in two years. Another secondary church school is also being mooted for North Yorkshire.

Barry Winter, headteacher at Ian Ramsey CE School, Stockton, which has an average GCSE pass rate of 56 per cent for five A to C grades, said: "I think we have a faith dimension which we don't force down children's throats, but which is attractive to parents and to youngsters. Our academic record is fairly good and I think that is fairly common as well."

David Henderson, headteacher at Hummersknott School, in Darlington, which has an average 65 per cent pass rate for five GCSEs A to C grades, said: "Many parents don't want to send their children to school where there is a church bias of any sort.

"But the Government has latched on to the fact that church schools do better than non-church schools. The evidence for this is not fair at all.

"It's more likely that church schools which exist at the moment are attracting more able pupils from better social backgrounds. Value added research has not been considered."

The Reverend John Carter, spokesman for the Right Reverend John Packer, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, said: "In North Yorkshire we're finding that demand is there even for parents who don't profess to be Christian.

"They find their children get high moral values and a caring ethos."