Pupils of Bishops’ Bluecoat CE and Chester Catholic High Schools hand petition against bus subsidy cuts to council leader

Jul 7 2011 by Katie Bamber, Chester Chronicle

DEFIANT pupils and staff from two Chester faith schools descended on council headquarters to express their anger at proposed bus subsidy cuts.

Youngsters from Bishops’ Bluecoat CE High School and Chester Catholic High School presented a joint petition to Cheshire West and Chester Council leader Mike Jones.

Around 2,000 signatories added their voices to a chorus of opposition to the plans, which would see subsidised transport for faith school pupils and over 16s scrapped.

Bishops’ headteacher Justin Blakeborough said the move would make faith schools the preserve of the wealthy elite.

“There should be a choice available to parents and that choice is being taken away unless parents have a considerable income.

“If the subsidy is removed totally, the option for sending students to a faith school will only be available to the well-off who can afford to pay in the region of £500 a year for each of their children.

“Churchgoers aren’t just rich people - they represent a whole spectrum of incomes.”

Parents who choose to send their children to Bishops’, in Great Boughton, or the Catholic High School, in Handbridge, currently receive help with bus fares if they live more than three miles and less than 15 miles from their school.

Dr John Duffy, deputy head at the Catholic High, said: “It’s a longstanding concession to Catholics. It respects the principle of religious freedom in our country.

“With all the other reductions to income at the moment, this would come as quite a crushing blow to some people.”

Cllr Jones said council officers were working their way through responses to the consultation, which ended on Sunday.

“There’s a lot of emotion about these things. We have to distill the factual evidence from the emotional.

“When parents choose their schools, if they choose a non-faith school, they have to pay. Why are we positively discriminating in favour of some people and not others?

“For example, there is a family in Frodsham that don’t travel to the nearest Catholic school in Ellesmere Port. They travel to Chester Catholic High School.

“I do feel very much for the families because it’s increasing costs for them. But they have a choice to make a preference for a school and, when they make their choice, there’s a cost to it.”

A final decision is expected on July 13.