EDUCATION chiefs say they cannot fund a court case against a school that does not allow pupils to wear full face religious veils - after a girl's father launched a legal challenge for her to wear a niqab.

The father of a 12-year-old pupil is taking the Bucks school to court after she was told not to attend lessons wearing her niqab. The case could leave the school with a £500,000 bill - a tab that the local education authority says it cannot help pick up due to budget restrictions.

Wycombe MP Paul Goodman is understood to believe that without its help Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) is giving the go-ahead for every school in the county to allow the wearing of niqabs. The stance has caused a rift between the Tory-led council and Mr Goodman, who is a Tory member.

But BCC has hit back saying it wants the girl to return to school, as she has been home taught since October, and is trying to find a solution for her to do so. The school is currently footing the bill for her home tuition. BCC also said that to fund a court case, cutbacks would have to be made elsewhere.

Marion Clayton, county council cabinet member for achievement and learning, said: "What we have been doing and what we will be continuing to do is work with the school to bring about some kind of resolution. The concern that we have is for the child involved. All the press coverage and hype is not helping the family. I'm really disappointed in the way the public have reacted, it's got completely out of proportion.

"Financially we have been quoted potential costs of between a quarter and half-a-million pounds. If I were to fund that money out of county council funds to support the school, it would mean that I would have to make cuts to that value elsewhere."

David Shakespeare, BCC leader, said the council had suggested to the school that it gets together with the schools forum to come up with a way of funding the case.

He said: "Everybody thinks the schools are part of the county council, whereas the Government has moved them away and funds them direct."

Cllr Shakespeare thought the robustness of the school's dress code started the case.

He said: "The problem is when the dress code isn't explicit enough to say exactly what they can wear and what they cannot wear and I think this is maybe the cause here."

He added that BCC had contacted the Department for Education and Skills about helping to fund the case, but it had no indication that it was willing to do so.

On February 8 a judge at the High Court in London will decide whether the family has a case against the school, both of which cannot be named for legal reasons.

Community groups including the Muslim Parents Association and the Wycombe Islamic Society, had also been in talks with the family in trying to resolve the issue.

The story was first revealed on the weblog of Iain Dale a Conservative activist. Since then national papers have picked it up.

The case is similar to that of Shabina Begum, a 16-year-old from Luton, who was excluded from a school for refusing to adhere to uniform policy. Last year, the law lords ruled that the school was justified in sending her home.

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