A LEADING Roman Catholic school has hit back at accusations it is "misleading" parents by allowing pupils to participate in blood sports.

Douglas Batchelor, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, has called upon Ampleforth College, run by Benedictine monks, to drop the activities, which include fishing and beagling, as well as rearing pheasants for shooting.

"It speaks volumes that these so called 'sports' are not listed on the college's website," he said. "They must be ashamed to offer such activities. The whole thing smacks of hypocrisy.

"Not only is it misleading parents, but it goes against the strength of feeling among the majority of the British public that killing animals for sport is cruel and immoral."

But a spokesman for the college denied the claims.

"There is no intention to mislead parents. Far from it," he said.

"To quote from the Ampleforth College prospectus: 'Country sports are also available in surroundings which are ideally suited to them. They include shooting over the school's own rough shoot, fishing and the meets of the Old Ampleforth Beagles'.

"We neither conceal participation in any of these sports, nor give undue prominence to activities pursued by relatively few students."

The college website was not fully up to date, he said, with a number of other activities such as karate and the Classical Society not yet listed.

The spokesman said the rural setting of the college meant students were taking part in something at the heart of rural society.

Ampleforth College, which was in the Government's Countryside Stewardship Scheme and was a member of the Woodland Management Scheme, was particularly concerned for the preservation of the countryside, he said.

"Boys and, in future, girls interested in shooting spend three years being trained in the conservation, management and humane despatch of game.

"They learn about rearing, releasing, feeding and caring for game, and play an important role in the preservation of the whole ecology and land use of the valley, benefiting all kinds of flora and fauna.

"Such shooting as they then do when they reach the sixth form enjoys high standards of ethics and safety, and results in modest numbers of birds, all for the pot.

"We take pride in this as in every other dimension of education here."

Updated: 11:20 Wednesday, February 05, 2003