mybabe At last...one of the political parties speaks common sense about education. Have any of the others got the testicular fortitude to make a similar promise ?

grunwald I wouldn’t hold your breath. Labour traditionally rely on the Catholic vote, though that pattern is changing, and I doubt if the SNP will want to upset Catholics after Cardinal Keith O’Brien‘s recent comments supporting secession from the union.

Teach2005 Why abolish Catholic schools when the two “best schools in Scotland” are Catholic, in East Renfrewshire? Are the Green Party threatened? If doing well, leave well alone.

Janek Kowalski The Green Party raises an issue of public policy. Parents have a right to educate their children in their own way, using funds available to them. When it comes to demanding that the taxpayers’ money be used for private, personal or denominational purposes, other issues come into play. It cannot be efficient in small towns and rural areas to transport children past schools of the “wrong” sort. The efficient management of school rolls cannot be helped by the duplication of buildings and workforces. If access to teacher training is restricted on denominational grounds, then public money will be spent on less well-qualified students. Where a job market is selective, this may help otherwise unemployable teachers, but their students are bound to suffer.

MissMcGSome very good educational research suggests that denominational schools are not the cause of sectarianism and they contribute positively to education provision in Scotland.