Prior Park College in Bath now describes itself a “Christian School in the Catholic tradition”.
Theology will no longer be compulsory at GCSE at Prior Park, which was founded in 1830, although it will continue to be available to all.
In February, a Catholic Schools Inspectorate report for the Diocese of Clifton advised the school to “strengthen the centrality of Christ” in the daily lives of students and staff, “so that they can better understand the Catholic life and mission of the college”.
A statement on Prior Park’s website said the report had no bearing on the change.
A former Prior Park headmaster has founded a group to fight the move. Dr Giles Mercer, headmaster of Prior from 1996-2009, established the Prior Park Continuity Group after being “nearly engulfed” by messages objecting to the change. Last week the continuity group served the trustees a letter inquiring about the legal basis for the change.
“As of the current date the trustees have not changed the object of the school’s trust, as recorded at the Charity Commission. These concern the advancement of education for Catholics and other children and also to provide for such other charitable works as advance the Roman Catholic religion,” Mercer told The Tablet.
The headmaster of Prior Park, Ben Horan told The Tablet: “Many Catholic independent schools have closed in the past five years. Some parents chose our school because it was Catholic. Many more chose it for other reasons.”
In a YouTube video posted on the school’s website, Horan referred to a period in history 200 years ago when the “enemy” in Britain was Roman Catholics, about the legal limits placed on Catholics over the centuries and the ongoing dangers of sectarianism today.
But he said Britain today is “very different” from the Britain of 200 years ago, a country of pluralism and one where many views exist. Religious freedom is enshrined in law, he said, noting that the Catholic Church is the largest provider of secondary education in the country.
“I believe in the power of Catholic education,” he said. Prior Park has however always been a school that is capable of change, he noted, saying it is now a school where fewer than one-fifth of the students are Catholic. “Great schools adapt and them they thrive.”
Acknowledging that for some it will be “difficult”, he said that the school has decided that instead of being a Catholic school, it will become a Christian school in the Catholic tradition. “We want the very best education for today’s students,” he said.
Horan and David Catlow, head of the schools’ trustees, said the trust sought legal advice before the change and would now work “closely with the Charity Commission on any necessary changes to status”.
A survey of parents, who “overwhelmingly” approved the change, was conducted last summer, said Horan.
A historian who taught at the school compared the change to an “act of cultural and religious vandalism” akin to the iconoclasm of 1548.
Professor Gerard Kilroy, who teaches at the Jesuit Ignatianum University in Krakow said: “This is on a smaller scale but it is still breaking away from the Church which has a global reach and tradition going back centuries.”
Horan denied the school was “severing” links to the Church. “That is the language of headlines,” he said. “Our earnest hope is to continue to work with the Catholic Church and Diocese of Clifton.”
Bishop Bosco MacDonald of Clifton Diocese said: “I was saddened to be informed of the decision of the trustees and the headmaster of Prior Park College, following on from their recent CSI (Catholic Schools' Inspectorate) inspection, to disassociate the College from its Catholic designation. This choice will undoubtedly take the school in a new direction with many challenges ahead.”
He told The Tablet: “ I would like to offer my prayers in thanksgiving for all that the Prior Park has achieved during its long history as an exceptional and much loved Catholic institution.”
The bishop added: “Christ is the foundation of the whole educational enterprise in a Catholic school. Our Catholic school communities throughout the diocese embrace and welcome families of all faiths and none. Many families come to our schools attracted by our inclusive vision that seeks to bring children and young people to discover in themselves and in others the truth, goodness and beauty of God no matter who they are.”
“This vision underpins the worthwhile and praiseworthy endeavour of Catholic education, but it is not without its trials and challenges. I am grateful to all who work so hard to ensure that our Catholic schools continue to be places of learning and excellence inspired by our faith, hope and love."
The previous school headmaster was James Murphy-O’Connor, nephew of the late Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.