I went to a CofE primary school and the only thing religious about the experience wad singing hymns in morning assembly and going to church for the harvest festival (which for us kids was more about making nd decorating harvest boxes!). I also remember RE classes where we learned all about Hinduism, Judaism and other faiths, even a field trip to a mosque once, so I don't class schools like that as faith schools really. The same as Catholic schools, a lot of my friends went to the local Catholic high school and they learned the same subjects I did at my nondenominational high school!

I think any school that pushes a particular faith in any heavy handed way needs to stop being classed as a school. Religion had no part in education, other than learning about it's different branches from an academic stance.

I am very interested in this topic and will look further at the links you provided when I am in the office and not on my smartphone!

Some high schools in the UK do offer philosophical type classes; my friend is a teacher in west London and she teaches sociology from year 9 onwards (although I believe it's called 'social science' pre A-Level), and another of my friends, who teaches in Essex, teaches psychology from the same age. Obviously both are only watered down versions, but both take a look at human behaviour and moral responsibility from a more scientific stand point. It's quite common for high schools to offer these classes, I believe.