Exclusive By Joanna Desira, Evening Gazette
The world’s favourite wizard Harry Potter has been banished from the shelves of a Teesside school library because of fears of satanic undertones.
Sources close to The King’s Academy in Coulby Newham confirmed today that staff at the £20m super school felt the celebrated books by author J K Rowling should not be stocked.
The Gazette understands that headteacher Nigel McQuoid took the decision after discussions involving librarians and teaching staff before the school opened in September.
Some staff were said to be worried about the series containing connotations to the occult and witchcraft.
We understand pupils are allowed to bring their own copies of the books into school to read if they wish.
Mr McQuoid himself declined to confirm that Harry Potter was banned from library shelves in line with a number of other schools in Britain and abroad with a strong Christian ethos.
“The King’s Academy policy on the books it stocks is that it seeks agreement among its staff on certain titles and we have plenty of scope to stock books on which they do agree,” he said.
King’s Academy is sponsored by the Reg Vardy Foundation, headed by Sir Peter Vardy, a Christian fundamentalist.
Teesside clergy contacted by the Gazette did not share the school’s views on the books.
The Rev Mike Proctor, minister for the nearby St Mark’s Local Ecumenical Partnership in Coulby Newham, said he reads Harry Potter books to his son.
“I think this is something each parent has to reach their own decision on,” he said.
“I think the books are particularly well written and are very interesting.
“They do raise concerns among many Christians but personally my wife and I have enjoyed reading them with our son and I don’t have any problem with them.
“I think the governing body of a school has a responsibility to run a school as it sees fit and I believe a decision such as this is taken after consultation with parents.”
Monsigneur Ricardo Morgan, of Coulby Newham’s St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, said: “The headteachers, teachers and governing body have to make a decision on what materials should be in school.
“But it is very difficult in the lightness and comedy of Harry Potter for a young person to be drawn any more into the occult than somebody watching television.
“There are quite a few programmes that deal with the supernatural.”
A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council said the local education authority left it to headteachers to decide which books should be available in schools.
“Most authorities leave the choice of books up to the discretion of the headteacher and staff. Most of the books in any school library are directly linked to the curriculum,” he said.
“We offer advice through our advisory service but schools are more than capable of deciding what should be on the shelves.”
The King’s Academy is the second the Reg Vardy Foundation has opened in the North-east.
The first, Emmanuel College, hit the headlines nationally in 2002 when it was accused of undermining the teaching of evolution for creationist theories.
Harry Potter books were banned from St Mary’s Island Church of England School in Kent after the headteacher said they didn’t fit in with its Christian ethos.
Christian schools in Australia have banned the books from their libraries because they believe they encourage children to dabble in the occult and in New Mexico in the USA the books were burned after people accused the fictional Harry Potter of being the devil.
Schools in the United Arab Emirates banned the books after they were judged to be offensive to the Islamic faith.
I’m not saying a bloody thing.
Will
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