AMID the beating of drums and chanting of vedic hymns, the bhoomi puja of Britain’s first-ever state-funded Hindu school was performed here to mark the beginning of its construction.

Pupils at Krishna-Avanti Primary School, which will open its doors to the first reception class in September, will have dedicated Yoga and Sanskrit lessons and will grow vegetables, in line with the strict vegetarian principles of the school.

There had been no Hindu state school until now because the community was not ready to take on the responsibility, Nitesh Gor, chairman of governors of the school told newsmen. “It has taken the Hindu community the last few decades to establish its roots in this country. There has been no focus on education yet because the school system is a strict statutory regime and only now are we coming up to that level of expertise to say ‘we can deliver this’,” he said.

A traditional Hindu temple will take pride of place in the courtyard of the new school in Harrow, north London. It will have about 240 pupils, with an admission policy giving priority to practising Hindus.

The school was forced to abandon even stricter entry requirements which would have required parents to be vegetarian, teetotaller and pray daily if they wanted their children to win a place.

The admission policy now has a list of nine criteria, the first six of which include children from practising Hindu families and those from “Hindu families who are broadly following the tenets of Hinduism.”

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