British Isles
Home-schooling children
09 Mar 2018
In February the BBC reported that some schools are persuading parents to home-school troubled children so that their exam results do not count against the school. They are worried about poor Ofsted inspections, league table positions,…
Further to last week’s article in the World section about Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre being closed, this week Archbishop Justin Welby and Cardinal Vincent Nichols called on the Israeli government to protect Jerusalem’s holy sites. A joint…
Foodbanks and poverty
09 Mar 2018
The Trussell Trust runs a network of over 400 foodbanks across the UK, giving emergency food and support to people in crisis. Already this year they have given 586,907 three-day emergency food supplies to people in…
Meghan Markle baptised
09 Mar 2018
Meghan Markle was baptised and confirmed by Justin Welby at a private ceremony at the Chapel Royal on the evening of 6 March. Meghan was raised a Protestant, went to a Catholic school, and previously married…
Shortage of RE teachers
02 Mar 2018
With a chronic shortage of qualified RE teachers in schools, greater incentives are needed to attract new recruits. Without such teachers, pupils in later life will fail to filter out the stereotypes that contribute to religious…
Brexit: EU and UK plans for NI
02 Mar 2018
Theresa May’s post-Brexit plans for Northern Ireland to be under the same rules and regulations as the rest of the UK and to leave the EU customs union were challenged in the EU’s 120-page draft withdrawal…