Reprieve for C of E Free School after mayor steps in

A CHURCH of England Free School will open in London as planned in September, after the Department for Education had announced that it would be delayed by a year (News, 11 July), writes Margaret Holness. The Fulham Boys School will open in temporary accommodation, after an intervention by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, whose team identified several possible sites for a permanent home for the school.

Immigration Street  comes to Southampton

PLANS to film a new TV documentary, Immigration Street, have been criticised by the Revd Steve Chalke, whose charity, the Oasis Trust, runs a school in the road featured in Benefits Street, the controversial programme created by the same production company (News, 24 January). "People turned up from all over the country to ridicule the locals," he told The Times this week. "I'm horrified, but not the least bit surprised that the production company is trying to tear into another community."

Police appeal after human skull delivered to church

A HUMAN skull, wrapped in tissue paper and placed in a bag, was found by a churchwarden outside the door of Lady St Mary's, in Wareham, Dorset, two weeks ago. Detective Constable Michelle Lawrence, of Bournemouth and Poole CID, said that the skull "appears to be very old", and speculated that a local resident may have "wanted to do the right thing" after digging it up in a garden. Anyone with information can contact Dorset Police in confidence by telephoning 101 and quoting incident number 11:171.

Professor Woodhead to head Modern Church

LINDA WOODHEAD, Professor of the Sociology of Religion at the University of Lancaster and co-founder of the Westminster Faith Debates, has been named as the new president of the organisation Modern Church. Professor Woodhead is already on the editorial board of the journal of Modern Church, Modern Believing, which promotes liberal theology.

Former Archbishop of Central Africa dies

A FORMER Archbishop of Central Africa, the Rt Revd Donald Arden, has died, aged 98. Bishop Arden, who died peacefully at his home in Hampshire last Friday, first went to Africa in 1944 to serve the Pretoria Native Mission. He later became Bishop of Nyasaland, of Malawi, and of South Malawi, and became Archbishop of Central Africa in 1971. Obituary to follow.

Archbishop Welby to resign from the Travellers' Club

THE Archbishop of Canterbury intends to resign his membership of the Travellers' Club in Pall Mall, London, a spokeswoman from Lambeth Palace has told The Independent. The club's members recently voted to retain its all-male membership.

Correction: We incorrectly listed the Revd Rosalind Rutherford as one of the priests pictured celebrating in York (News, 18 July). The picture showed the Revd Julie Comalty.