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Summary
This study examines the impact of church schools on a range of indices of village church life in a sample of 1637 communities ranging in size from 250 to 1250 inhabitants. After controlling for the influence of population, electoral roll, the amalgamation of churches within multi‐parish benefices, the age of the clergyman and whether or not there is an occupied vicarage within the area served by the church, the presence of a church school is shown to augment slightly the village church's usual Sunday contact with 6‐9‐year‐olds and with adults. The presence of a church school is also shown to have a small positive influence on the number of infant baptisms, the number of 6‐13‐year‐olds in the village church choir and the number of young confirmands under the age of 14 years. All these findings emphasise the beneficial nature of the impact of Church of England voluntary schools on village church life.