Sir, – Nearly all schools with a Protestant ethos are in the fee-paying sector. Therefore, most parents of minority religions have little choice but to send their children to a fee-paying school.
In contrast parents of the majority religion have a choice of sending their children to a fee-paying or a free school. Protestant schools have to cater for the entire socio-economic spectrum and for all academic abilities. This they do well by providing bursaries and the block grant which is distributed on a means-tested basis. Our schools have always welcomed children of all faiths and none whose parents choose our schools particularly because of our ethos and are hugely supportive of their characteristic spirit.
The government’s action in successive budgets of increasing the pupil-teacher ratio in fee-paying schools has had a disproportionate effect on Protestant schools. Sadly the continuation of this campaign threatens the future of these schools and if this happens the diversity they provide to the country’s educational landscape will be lost. – Yours, etc,
IAN FRENCH,
Chairman,
Council of Governors of
Protestant
Secondary Schools,
Silchester Road,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.