Evangelical Christian Schools in England and The Netherlands

The Netherlands is well known for its great diversity of state-funded schools (including faith-based schools) and it is widely believed that starting a new school is a relatively easy process. This paper reflects on the process of policy-borrowing that occurred when British Evangelical Christian pressure groups looked to The Netherlands for inspiration. It shows that the reality of the Dutch situation is some distance from the rhetoric and that, until recently, it has actually been very difficult to start an Evangelical school. It describes the process by which two Evangelical Christian schools were established, and outlines the nature of the nine-year legal battle that one of them fought to obtain funding. The paper then discusses some of the ironies of this particular piece of policy-borrowing.