An orthodox Jewish school has been ordered to shut down after operating illegally for 40 years.

The Charedi Talmud Torah Tashbar school in Stamford Hill which is home to more than 200 pupils has failed to meet the “minimum” standards required by Ofsted.

Reports obtained by the British Humanist Association (BHA) revealed that the school had been allowed to operate illegally for years despite numerous alerts to the government about its failings.

The Department for Education only closed the school two weeks ago.

BHA Faith Schools campaigner, Jay Harman, said: ‘We’re glad that the government has now moved to shut this particular school down, which after all this time is an incredibly welcome move.

“However, there are clearly many more out there just like it.”

Ofsted inspectors said that its curriculum, taught in Hebrew, encouraged “cultural and ethnic insularity because it is so narrow and almost exclusively rooted in the study of the Torah”.

One of the detailed findings in the reports said the school, “does not provide lessons in written or spoken English and which encourages cultural and ethnic insularity”.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “It is a criminal offence to operate an unregistered independent school.

“This school’s application for registration has been rejected and on 30 December it was informed of this decision. It has been told to close by February 12.”

The Gazette contacted the school but no one was available for comment.