Full of Christmas spirit and Christian love, a headmaster in Scotland told a wee laddie he couldn’t go to his school’s Christmas party and enjoy jelly and blancmange and presents from Santa Claus with his friends, because the boy’s parents had pulled him from RE lessons.
Fortunately, his local council has told the headmaster he’s a prat.
Well, to be fair, we don’t know that, exactly, but let’s hope he and fellow teachers who supported him are feeling like prats – and that their Christmas will be punctuated with tiny pangs of guilt.
“Headmaster Ian Davidson said that because the youngster had no interest in religion he could not celebrate the birth of Christ,” says the story in 
the Daily Mail on nine-year-old Douglas Stewart’s banning from the party at Cluny Primary, a council-run school in Buckie, Banffshire.
Furious mother Dawn Riddell, 38, said yesterday: “I’ve helped out at the Christmas party before and it’s got absolutely nothing to do with Jesus. Douglas was heartbroken he couldn’t go. It was cruel.”
. . .
As the family have no religious beliefs, Miss Riddell had asked for them to be exempt from RE lessons.
But she was stunned when the head called with the news about the party.
She contacted Moray Council to find out its policy on school parties and was told these were non-religious.
The council spoke to the school and the decision to keep Douglas out of the party was put down to a “misunderstanding”, according to the Mail. A “misunderstanding”? What sort of “misunderstanding” is it that has teachers banning a nine-year-old kid from the jelly and trifle and the company of his classmates during midwinter festivities because he doesn’t attend indoctrination lessons? Did they ask him whether he’d like to join in the fun and games? Seems not.
As we see in our story below about the WI, it’s quite possible to enjoy some of the cultural traditions that have become part of the midwinter festivities without believing in the fairy stories. But there’s no accounting for the twisted minds of serious religionists.
After the council had spoken to the school, Douglas’s elder brother Callum was allowed to go to his own year’s Christmas party and, says the Mail, “Douglas received a present Santa had left behind”.
Pity it wasn’t the headmaster’s resignation.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
December 24th, 2007 at 1:04 am
wouldn’t it had been easier just to send the lad to RE lessons?
December 24th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
@ John, the parents just didn’t want him to attend RE lessons. Maybe it would have been easier for them just to send the boy to RE lessons, but the point is that he shouldn’t have been excluded from the Christmas party solely because he didn’t attend the RE classes.
December 27th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
When will these religious people learn that Jesus meant it when said that everyone’s welcome…
December 27th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
With views like that, it’s a wonder the headmaster didn’t ban Santa in case he was the Spawn of Satan trying to steal kiddie souls with his devilish presents!
January 9th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Sadly, the north of Scotland is particularly afflicted with small minded calvinism. The so called free church of scotland even excommunicated one of its most illustrious members, Lord Mackay of Clashfern [a formed Lord Chancelleor] for attending the catholic funeral service of a fellow peer.
Nonetheless, RE lessons can be very interesting and stimulating and range across all sorts of social issues. They do not have to consist of indoctrination - depends on the teacher and school policy. The study of religion can reinforce the intellectual rejection of organised religion.
Still, hope the headmaster gets it, though.