Thursday, July 14, 2005

Harry Potter and the Stupid Rector

I am not a great admirer of the Harry Potter books. Whenever I open one a cliche flies out at me, and I have been known to give adults reading them on trains a hard stare.

Nor do I admire J. K. Rowling, or at least her advisers, for seeking and winning an extraordinarily restrictive injunction against the few Canadians who innocently bought Harry Potter and the Load of Old Bollocks, or whatever it is called, ahead of the official publication day.

But all this is insignificant when set against this:

A primary school cancelled a Harry Potter day over complaints it could lead children into "areas of evil".

Pupils from The Holt Primary School in Skellingthorpe, Lincs, were planning to dress up as witches and wizards.

But the event - to mark the launch of the new JK Rowling book - was scrapped after parents and a local rector expressed concerns about witchcraft.

Headteacher Paul Martin said the rector claimed he was seeking "to lead our children into areas of evil".

Martin goes on to say that he made his decision after he received a letter from the rector that suggested he was "seeking to lead our children into areas of evil".

Remarkably, The Holt does not appear to be a Church school but an ordinary county primary. What a shame Mr Martin did not, respectfully and politely, tell the rector what to do with his letter.

No comments: