Headmaster reiterates opposition to education plans

Cardinal's concern for London schools
By Jonathan Petre A CLASH between Cardinal Hume and the governors of the London Oratory school over reorganisation plans seemed likely this week after Mr John McIntosh, headmaster of the Oratory, reaffirmed that the school would not consider cutting a form of entry.
"There is no reason for us to change our minds. We do not want to get involved in a reorganisation that will not work," he said.
According to the plan decided upon by the bishops, in their capacity as members of the Council for Diocesan Affairs, eight forms of entry — each consisting of about thirty places — are to be lost from the seven secondary schools in the West London area, and two pairs of schools are to amalgamate.
The London Oratory school, which is at present a six-entry form boys school, has been able to resist change because it is not in the trusteeship of the diocese but of the Fathers of the Oratory who appoint eight of the twelve governors.
The bishops, who want to reduce the size of the school by one form of entry, have therefore no statutory power over the school.
But their position was spelt out in a letter dated December 10 ' from Bishop David Konstant, chairman of the Education Commission, to Mr. Gerry Austin, headmaster of St Thomas More School, one of the schools facing amalgamation.
The letter says: "It has been suggested that the London Oratory school will not reduce to five FE (forms of entry) and that if it were to remain as six FE this would seriously reduce the number of boys available for the five FE mixed school in the south of the division (resulting from the amalgamation of St Thomas More and St Edmund's schools). I wish to assure you that the Cardinal's decision on the matter is absolutely firm."
But the governors of the London Oratory school appear to be equally firm in their resolve to remain a six-entry form school. In a letter dated December 17 to the Inner London Education Authority, Fr Charles Dilke, chairman of the governors, says that "the trustees have not given their assent to the proposal made in the Bishops' statement that the London Oratory school should reduce from six to five forms of entry."
Opposition to the bishops' plan has also come from a number of parish priests in the West London area. In a letter carried last week in the Catholic Herald, eleven priests urge the bishops to reconsider their plan, saying that "we do this in the sincere belief that the future of the young Church in West London will be seriously affected by the decisions."
"At a time of great financial stress," the letter says, "the Church must have a special concern for those who suffer most. There is no question, as has been suggested, of 'levellingdown' the quality of our schools. We pay a lot of money for the priviledge of having Catholic schools."
Bishop Konstant last week issued a statement in the hope of allaying some of these fears. The bishops, the statement says, intend to issue a fuller statement of the reasons for their decision on reorganisation.
But the plan was decided on for several reasons. The bishops were concerned "to remove uncertainty which might damage all the schools in Division One" and they decided to adopt the scheme "which involved less disruption than any other proposals."
"The bishops believed" the statement says, "that their decision was the most realistic one, given the present school structure, parents' preferences and the balance of provision for boys and girls, not only in Division One, but in surrounding areas."
• Children at St John Fisher Primary School, West Wimbledon, had to eat turkey and mincepies on separate days because the local council, the London Borough of Merton, refused permission for what it regarded as a Christmas lunch. Merton abolished Christmas lunch for its school children three years ago, to cut costs.