'Astonished' headteacher asks parents for their views on the C of E proposals BLUE Coat headteacher Sandy Tittershill last night wrote to parents urging them to write to him with their views on the church school proposals. He said he believed the character and identity of the school "are at risk", and stated his "wholehearted opposition" to designation as a C of E school. He wrote: "One of the major strengths of the Blue Coat School is its multicultural diversity. "Our selection and entrance tests draw students from all faiths reflecting the culture of today's 21st century society. "The doctrines of the 18th century are outdated and do not reflect the current Government agenda of choice and diversity and this is not reflected in this proposal. "The city of Liverpool needs the Blue Coat School as it is, a multicultural, dynamic and tolerant community." He added: "I have now personally been at the school for 41 years and became the school's 24th headmaster in April, 2001. "Never at any time has one single person ever suggested to me that the Blue Coat school is a Church of England school. "I am astonished by this proposal and find it hard to see what benefits a Blue Coat Church of England school could offer the students of the city of Liverpool, which is already well catered for by Church of England schools." Three-hundred-year-old document prompts minister to move towards approval for church school plan THE Secretary of State for Education said he was "minded to approve" the designation of the Blue Coat as a church school - which will mean it closing and re-opening again with a new C of E status. The Church's claim is based on a 1708 document which stated the purpose of the school, including that: "Religious instruction shall be given in the school in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England." Schools minister Alan Johnston dismissed as "irrelevant" a revised version of the phrase in March 2005, which said: "religious studies in the school shall reflect the multi-cultural background of the pupils." Yesterday the Bishop of Warrington, the Rt Rev David Jennings, who chairs the Diocesan Board of Education, described the past couple of years as "difficult". In a statement he said: "The Diocese was presented in 2003 with clear evidence that the Blue Coat was founded as a Church of England school and was, in effect, registered as such with the Charity Commission as recently as 2000. "My colleagues and I could not understand, when presented with this evidence, why the school was not designated formally with C of E status by the DfES when the 1998 Act was implemented, especially when other Blue Coat schools, for example in Oldham, Coventry and Chester, have always been recognised as Church of England schools. "I hope very much that we will all now be able to move forward on the basis of this decision." The director of education for the Diocese of Liverpool, Jon Richardson, described the Blue Coat as an "outstanding institution".
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