Parents of children at North Primary School in Southall, London, said they were ‘outraged’ by the decision and claimed it showed a triumph of ‘religious superstition’ over scientific education.

Phil Belman, whose seven-year-old daughter goes to the school, met with interim headteacher Ivor Johnstone who said he was unable to elaborate on the decision because of ‘confidentiality’.

‘It’s just going back to the dark ages really. My child went in having spent an hour preparing and making up her pinhole camera,’ said Mr Bellman.

The headteacher said: ‘The school made this decision when we became aware of religious and cultural concerns associated with observing an eclipse directly.

‘Although we are sorry for any disappointment, pupils were still able to watch the eclipse on screens in classrooms. However, the overcast conditions in West London today meant they would not have been able to see it live in any case.’

North Primary, which is not a faith school, describes itself online as ‘multicultural with a welcoming ethos’. In the summer of July 2014, complaints made by a number of teachers led to an investigation by governors of the school. Sometimes known as Little India, Southall is a diverse community in west London with a large Hindi population.

Some Hindu scriptures say that an eclipse makes believers impure. And fundamentalists believe that they need to bathe immediately after an eclipse and chant the name of God to overcome the forces of darkness.