Avanti Schools Trust

Avanti Schools Trust is the sponsor of state-funded Hindu faith schools in the United Kingdom. The I-Foundation is a Hindu and ISKCON charity in England and Wales that is the religious authority governing schools run by the Avanti Schools Trust.

Prior to the founding of schools by the I-Foundation, Hinduism was the only major world religion which did not have a dedicated faith school in the UK. The I-Foundation founded the first Hindu faith school in London to be funded by the government. The Krishna Avanti school opened in February 2010. The organisation has since opened additional Hindu faith schools, with more schools planned for development.

Admission

Admission to schools is open to students having a Hindu faith background as well as students of other faiths.

Concerns had initially surfaced surrounding the first I-Foundation school's classification of the term "Hindu" or "practicing Hindu" in relation to student families. However, Krishna Avanti Primary School appropriately responded to these concerns by revising the admissions policy to accommodate a less stringent definition of the term "practicing Hindu" and left the responsibility for determination of the "practicing Hindu" status of a prospective student's family to local Hindu temple priests.