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Camden New Journal - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 2nd August 2007

Something to celebrate

Securing University College London’s involvement in a new secondary school for Camden is a triumph for executive member for education Councillor Andrew Mennear, and the new administration.
UCL is an absolutely world-class institution, based in Camden. With luck, not only will we have a new and excellent secondary school, but also a route for children from the borough to go into world-beating higher education provision. And yet, unbelievably, it seems people are complaining. Even worse, they want to waste the council’s time and money with futile threats of judicial review.
This is madness. It is beyond belief that anyone in their right mind could imagine a Church of England faith school would be better than the UCL deal. Faith schools are socially divisive. In any case, there are hundreds of faith schools in London already. Middle-class parents who want to find God for a few years, so that darling Timothy and Jocasta don’t have to mix with the rough kids from the estates, are well served. The last thing we need is another church school dragging religion into the classroom. (Unless and until the Church of England agrees to allow the teaching of calculus during holy communion, maybe.) Although there might be something to be said as a general rule for having an ordinary local education authority school rather than an academy, the real objection is to the dubious quality of academy sponsors to date. With UCL as a partner Camden may have the very best of the new academies in the country. Isn’t that something to celebrate?
Stephen Hocking
Berridge Mews, NW6

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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