The National Secular Society is threatening to bring a judicial review of the “systematic” failure of the Office for Students’ to uphold academic freedom by registering colleges which impose fundamentalist religion on students.
The NSS complaint relates to twelve theological ‘bible colleges’ registered as higher education providers with the OfS. Despite first notifying the OfS of potential breaches by bible colleges in October 2021 and raising the matter “repeatedly” in the years since, the NSS says the OfS has taken “no visible regulatory action”.
Universities and other higher education providers must register with the OfS in order to access public funds, including student loans. Freedom of Information requests by the NSS found the colleges received a total of £86mn of public funds in the academic years 2018 to 2025.
The conditions of registration require providers to uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom for staff, members, students, and visitors. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 also places a duty on providers to secure freedom of speech and academic freedom.
The NSS argues that because the ‘bible colleges’ registered with the OfS require study and teaching to be carried out in accordance with religious doctrine, they breach of these requirements.
College founding documents say bible is “infallible and authoritative word of God”
Examples include Regents Theological College, which requires that academic members of staff be Christian and assent to the “basis of faith” of Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance, a group of Pentecostal churches that is officially registered with the OfS and which controls the college. Elim describes this basis of faith – which asserts the bible to be “without error”, “infallible” and “the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and conduct” – as “non-negotiable”.
Regents serves as the “centre of training” for the Elim alliance, and a significant proportion of its teaching is aimed at future clergy and employees of the church. Other theological colleges, such as those run by the Church of England, are not registered with the OfS and are therefore not eligible to receive public funds.
Similarly, Moorlands College requires in its founding documents that all its activities be “carried out in strict accordance” with its “doctrinal basis”, including belief in the “supreme authority” of the “Old and New Testament Scriptures”.
The college previously listed “sexual misconduct as understood in the classic Evangelical tradition of the College’s founding documents” as a basis for expulsion, and its most recent code of conduct continues to state that “sexual intercourse outside of marriage” will lead to a formal disciplinary process. Moorlands is a member of Evangelical Alliance, which believes same-sex marriage to be invalid and has opposed sexually active same-sex partnerships as a “legitimate form of Christian relationship”.
In March 2025, the OfS issued a record fine to the University of Sussex after finding it breached “ongoing conditions of registration and governance” relating to freedom of speech and academic freedom. The OfS’s investigation into the University of Sussex was launched in October 2021, the same month it was first notified by the NSS of breaches by bible colleges.
College using budget for “acquiring and renovating churches” is “unresolvable conflict of interest”
The NSS has raised concerns with the OfS about the financial arrangements of some of these colleges, which see public funds paid directly to a church, rather than to a distinct educational entity. In many cases, public funds for education can be a small proportion of the financial turnover of the provider and are not necessarily accounted for separately.
The NSS highlighted that Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance states it invests budgetary surpluses in “capital projects” such as “acquisition and capital renovation programs on church buildings and manses for our ministers”.
The NSS said this is a clear breach of OfS rules and an “unresolvable conflict of interest” as Elim trustees responsible for overseeing the proper use of educational funds are all senior employees of the church.
In December, the OfS announced an investigation into the University of Greater Manchester amid mounting allegations of financial misconduct, in addition to bribery and bullying.
NSS: OfS appears to have “double standards” for bible colleges
NSS spokesperson Jack Rivington said: “When religious organisations voluntarily register with the OfS in order to access to public funds, it is right that they be held to the same standards as any other registered provider.
“It is therefore deeply concerning that the OfS appears have double standards in its approach to bible colleges. It has issued large fines to other providers for breaches of academic freedom and freedom of speech requirements, yet has taken no visible action on bible colleges, despite their breaches being at least as serious.
“The taxpayer should not be made to foot the bill for churches seeking to train their own staff. Institutions which seek to indoctrinate, rather than educate, run contrary to the fundamental principles of higher education. The OfS must now explain why it is continuing to allow millions of pounds of public money to be misspent on institutions which should never have been deemed eligible.”