Viscount Bridgeman (Con)

My Lords, I will speak briefly on a particular aspect of education: cathedral choir schools. They are the inheritors of a priceless tradition that goes back centuries. The number of visitors to the cathedral services at which pupils sing is an acknowledgement of the hard work that choristers have put in, in their pursuit of excellence. Musical education is hard work at these schools. They have a normal curriculum and rehearsals, and it is a condition of practically all choir schools that pupils study and learn a second instrument. If a cathedral school is forced by this new proposal to close, or at least to discontinue its choral traditions and facilities, the public sector will not be geared to take up the slack. I urge the Minister to do all in her power to safeguard the continuance of these very British institutions.