The new Venerable Bede Church of England Aided School will apparently use the eye scanning technology on pupils taking out library books or buying meals in the school canteen.
Although parents are yet to be consulted, the school's authorities claim that the biometric technology is not only safe, cost-effective and "foolproof", but it is also backed by the pupils, BBC News reports.
The National Union of Teachers, on the other hand, has apparently expressed concerns over the potential health and financial implications of the plan, arguing that a cheaper option would save more money for teaching.
In July 2002, human rights and privacy group Privacy International published a report claiming that approximately 200,000 UK school children have been fingerprinted by schools, often without their parents' knowledge or consent.
The electronic fingerprinting is, according to the group, being conducted as part of a cost cutting "automation" of school libraries, and at least 350 schools in the UK have installed the system.
In that report, Privacy International claimed that the practice of fingerprinting for the purpose of library cards is in violation of the Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act. The human rights group went further, criticising the UK Information Commission's compliance officer, who argued that fingerprinting "aids compliance with the Data Protection Act."
The group also lodged a request under the open government code for the release of all correspondence between the Commissioner's office and technology vendors marketing fingerprinting equipment.