Liverpool Blue Coat School - Church of England Status

Church of England Status

The Department for Education and Skills is currently considering the school's legal status receiving notification from the Diocese of Liverpool that the Liverpool Blue Coat School is a Church of England school. The Diocese took action when it discovered that a 2000 agreement between the school and the Charity Commission had committed the school to teaching the doctrines of the Church of England, in line with its founders' intentions.

Church of England status would give the Diocese the right to conduct inspections. If these identified a problem, the school would be required to find a solution, although not necessarily the solution proposed by the Diocese. It is likely that the Church of England would find the appointment of a non-Christian headteacher to be such a problem.

The school authorities and the parent-teacher association have stated that they are opposed to Church of England status, arguing that the school has both a Christian and multicultural ethos, and that designated Church of England status would inevitably change its character. They point out that one recent headmaster was a notable Welsh Presbyterian.

The Diocese has stated that under the Education Act 1998, any school that teaches Anglican doctrines automatically receives Church of England status, so neither the Diocese nor the school has any choice in the matter. They claim that the Diocese's policies on selection and multiculturalism are essentially identical with the school's. They also point out that the Bishop of Liverpool and the Dean of Liverpool have ceremonial roles in the school's governing body, that the school has had an Anglican chaplain for at least 40 years, and that the school's Founders' Day service has long been held in the city's Anglican cathedral.