Shepherding: the RC Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Rt Revd Terence
Drainey (above), officiates at a service in Beverley
Minster to celebrate the 50th anniversary of St John of Beverley RC
School. It is the first time in 450 years that an RC bishop has
said mass in the Minster.
The RC Church is to campaign for the inclusion of religious
education (RE) in the Government's proposals for exam reform, it
was announced this week. A statement from the Catholic Education
Service described as "profoundly troubling" the proposals for the
English Baccalaureate certificate, which seemed to exclude RE.
In RC schools, RE was at the core of the entire ethos of the
school, the statement said. It called for more rigorous
examinations in religious studies to replace GCSE. "An enriched
English Baccalaureate is one way to achieve this," the statement
said.