REPRESENTATIVES of 127 Church of England schools from across the Diocese of York were attending their annual conference today.

Teachers, governors, clergy and others were taking part in the event at York Racecourse, where the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, was due to welcome delegates and lead opening worship.

The Bishop of Whitby, the Right Rev Robert Ladds, was due to make his first appearance as chairman of the York Diocesan Board of Education, while Dr Ann Lees was to make her debut as diocesan director of education. Dr Lees had been deputy director for some years.

She said: "There's a real sense of new life in church schools - we are adding two new ones in this diocese in 2003 - and today's conference is about helping church schools to develop their distinctive Christian ethos.

"Their purpose is to show the church's commitment to serving the whole of society, and they do this by being Christian partners in educating the children of people who may share that Christian belief, but may also be of other faiths or of none.

"We're committed to this principle, and today's speakers are here to help us work it out in the daily lives of our schools."

The four visiting speakers were Canon John Hall, general secretary of the National Society for Promoting Religious Education, on "Church of England Schools, Distinctive and Inclusive"; Chris Edwards, chief executive of Education Leeds, on "Building Excellence through Creative and Dynamic Partnerships"; Professor Terence Copley, University of Exeter, on "Here we go again? Christianity in Religious Education in the Church School"; and Janina Ainsworth, director of education in the Church of England's Manchester Diocese, on "School Self-Review - What do we do about Ethos?".

Updated: 11:07 Monday, June 23, 2003