London Central Mosque — also known as the Regent's Park Mosque — is the largest purpose-built mosque in Western Europe, with a golden dome visible from across north London. Its education team runs one of Britain's busiest mosque school-visit programmes. Between September 2024 and June 2025, the mosque hosted approximately 12,400 pupils from more than 280 schools across London, the Home Counties, and visiting international school groups.
The visit programme
A typical school visit lasts 90 minutes. Pupils enter the main prayer hall, learn about mosque architecture, watch a live call to prayer (often Maghrib during winter bookings), and hear a trained educator explain the five pillars of Islam, prayer movements, and Ramadan. Girls and boys sit together in the hall; female staff explain hijab only when pupils ask. Questions are encouraged — topics range from 'why do Muslims fast?' to 'is the Quran like the Bible?' and 'can girls be imams?'
In 2024–2025 the education team expanded multilingual resources: summary sheets in English, Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, and Somali for schools with high EAL (English as an additional language) populations. Secondary visits include deeper sessions on Islamic history, science in the Golden Age, and Muslim contributions to British society.
Teachers and impact
Teachers consistently report that a physical visit changes classroom dynamics. 'Pupils who had only seen negative headlines met real Muslims who answered honestly,' said a head of RE from a Tower Hamlets secondary school after a March 2025 visit. Ofsted-aligned learning objectives are provided in advance; many schools use the visit as the capstone of a term on Islam.
- Primary visits (Years 3–6): focus on belonging, prayer, and festivals
- Secondary visits (Years 7–11): ethics, diversity within Islam, and British Muslim identity
- Special educational needs groups: shorter routes and tactile materials
- Teacher CPD evenings: termly sessions for RE leads new to teaching Islam
Beyond the tour
The mosque's community department links schools to follow-up projects: pen-pal exchanges with mosque youth clubs, joint charity food drives before Ramadan, and invitations to Big Iftar events. Several north London primaries now return annually — a tradition that turns one afternoon into a sustained relationship.
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.
London Central Mosque's school programme is a practical answer to a common question: how can young Britons learn about Islam accurately? By walking into a mosque, hearing the adhan, and speaking with educators who live the faith daily — 12,000 pupils a year are receiving that answer firsthand.