PROPOSALS are being discussed that Archbishop Holgate's School in York could become a C of E voluntary-aided school.

York already has one C of E secondary school and the loss of a community-based secular school to the religious sector would represent a narrowing of choice in the city.

Many religious schools do not teach the objective, fair and balanced multi-faith religious education that most parents want for their children.

The Archbishops' Council report, The Way Ahead: C of E Schools In The New Millennium (2001) "confirmed the crucial importance of the Church schools to the whole mission of the Church to children and young people, and indeed to the long-term well being of the Church of England".

It recommended reserving places for Christians and that church schools should become more "distinctively Christian", with a mission to "nourish those of the faith; encourage those of other faiths; challenge those who have no faith".

When only 7.5 per cent of adults go to church on an average Sunday, such overtly Christian schools cannot serve the whole community. Neither do they respect the autonomy of children in the vital matter of choosing their own religious and value commitments.

At a time when the theological tide in the church is moving in an increasingly hardline and intolerant direction, is it right that a church that is a minority interest in York be given control of another of our schools?

Martyn Clayton,

Park Lane, Holgate, York.

Updated: 10:28 Tuesday, December 31, 2002