Disharmony among parents and teachers at the Church of Ireland St Patrick’s primary school in Greystones, Co Wicklow was described last night as “regrettable” at the Dublin and Glendalough diocesan synod.

Karen Crean, who had been a board member at the school for 12 years, said it had taken “a retrograde step”. She pointed out that the school had been funded by taxpayers’ money and had a duty to provide an education also “for our fellow brothers of other beliefs”.

A heated debate over school admissions has been taking place at the school since July last when principal Eileen Jackson, in Greystones for more than 20 years, announced her resignation on the basis that the school was taking a “new direction” by making admission to State-funded education a “collateral benefit of parochial engagement”.

Also speaking at the synod, which took place in Greystones, Rev Dr Norman Gamble, a member of the Diocesan Board of Education, pointed out that “our schools are part of our mission rather than for our own people”. They were “not tied down for denominational purposes”. There were two views of church-run schools, he said “we want our schools for Christian instruction, and for Christian education”.

Christian instruction was what happened in Catholic schools in preparation for Holy Communion and Confirmation, he said, while Christian education “gave an education about the Christian faith regardless of the background they (pupils) came from”.

He continued: “let us not allow our schools wither on the vine because we don’t have parishioners.”

Scott Golden from Greystones recalled how he had been educated in a single teacher Church of Ireland school in the north west.

“Without children of other denominations that school could not have remained functioning,” he said. “Let us not be exclusionary or afraid of welcoming other denominations to our schools.”

Rev Fred Appelbe, rector at Rathmichael, Co Wicklow, said “the toughest task of my life has been school management”. He advised people to be “an curamach” as to who they allowed into their schools. He has seen how, once admitted, such people can make all sorts of other demands.

Seamus Puirseill from Raheny suggested that possibly another rector could be appointed chair of the school board of management as the pastoral and human resources functions were quite separate.