IN the latest Westminster Diocesan list of Statistics published this week, Cardinal Godfrey points out that in the past ten years the number of Catholic school places in the archdiocese has been increased by 22.500. At the same time, the Catholic birthrate has more than doubled. and in London alone one child in every four is baptised a Catholic.
Since 1952. the Central school Lund has collected over £l.600.000 and has received almost Ulm in grants from public authorities. The present debt is 094209: these figures do not include expediture by religious orders on their own schools.
The total number of new schools built in the past ten years is: primary, 26; secondary 15; interim secondary, nine; and grammar three. In addition. extensions have been made to 33 other schools. The Cardinal points out that. except in a few cases. there is no grant at all for new primary schools, and the 75 per cent grant for secondary schools is only applicable if they provide places for the number of children who were in Catholic primary schools in 1959.