Madam, – I refer to the article written by Sean Byrne (Opinion, June 3rd, “Why should the taxpayer fund institutions of privilege?”) which referred to me and to the school of which I am headmaster, Wilson’s Hospital School. The writer did not contact the school before he wrote his article, so I must use this letter to refute his statements and implications.
Mr Byrne states that neither I, nor the school, know when we are privileged. The implication is that I come from, and represent, an affluent society that knows nothing of “everyday” Ireland. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I know that I was privileged to have attended Trinity College in the 1960s, when I was one of the very few working-class students at that time. I come from a class that Mr Byrne appears to know nothing about, or whom he does not know exists, namely, working-class Protestants. I know that I was privileged to have taught for many years in an outstanding CBS (St Joseph’s, Drogheda), and to have had many outstanding colleagues, both lay and religious, during that time.
I know that I am privileged to be headmaster of Wilson’s Hospital School, a school that has remained true to the vision of its founder, Andrew Wilson, by providing education at an affordable cost to children of the Church of Ireland and of other Christian denominations. Our pupils come from all over Ireland (and 10 per cent from 14 other countries), including those of the 13 counties where no Protestant second-level school exists. For the latter, boarding is the only option of obtaining an education in their own ethos.
Mr Byrne’s implication that this school is only nominally Protestant is without foundation.
We have a Church of Ireland chaplain (paid by the school), just as Catholic schools have a Catholic chaplain. All pupils take religious education for the Junior Certificate, and incidentally, about half of the SEC (Protestant) schools have that subject available to their pupils, which compares favourably with percentage figures for other sectors. Religious education is also available at Leaving Certificate and all pupils attend morning assembly. This is our ethos.
Those of our pupils who come from other EU states are just as entitled to receive an education in this country as Irish pupils are in Britain, Spain or France. As an economist, Mr Byrne should know that this benefits our GNP. As a Church of Ireland school, first places at entry are given to those of this church, just as Catholic schools reserve places for those of that faith.
I stand over my statement to General Synod (reported in The Irish Times), that this school has been disadvantaged by the imposition of a pupil/teacher ratio of 20:1. This means we have two teachers less than last year, but it means, most importantly, that we have one teacher less than a Catholic school of similar size (400 pupils).
In total, the Protestant schools (21 in number) have lost 26 more teaching posts than those in the Catholic sector, catering for the same number of pupils (10,000). That is how we have been disadvantaged.
The outlook that I have brought to Wilson’s is that Protestants must be integrated into this society, but integration does not mean assimilation.
It is for this reason that the Protestant community makes sacrifices to send children to schools of their own ethos. – Yours, etc,