The married father-of-five admitted that he "struggled" with his views on homosexuality, adding: "I'm listening very, very closely to try to discern what the spirit of God is trying to tell us."

He added: "I see my own selfishness and weakness and think who am I judge them for their sins, if they have sins.

"We shouldn't demonise and dismiss and hate each other as that is so dangerous."

Two years ago the Church of England agreed that gay clergy in civil partnerships can become bishops as long as they remain sexually abstinent. It has, however, remained opposed to same-sex marriages, which are now legal in England.

The Archbishop faced a number of "challenging" questions from pupils at the Church of England school, where 80 per cent of its pupils are Muslim.

Answering a pupil who asked whether he would encourage him to convert from Islam to Christianity, the Archbishop said: "I am not going to put pressure on you, and I wouldn't expect you to put pressure on me."

The news comes as the Archbishop was under fire on Monday after it emerged the Church of England was advertising jobs paying less than the living wage.

While the Church of England has campaigned for employers to pay staff the living wage of £7.85, a catering role at Lichfield Cathedral is being advertised paying just £6.50 an hour.

During his visit, the Archbishop was asked to bless a plaque which will be placed on a new community sports facility that will be named after him, called the Archbishop Welby Healthy Living Area.

He joked that he had failed to do his normal daily run and hoped he wouldn't be seen as "the hypocrite the press say I am" by blessing a fitness facility.

He later told the Birmingham Mail: "We are moving towards the living wage. We would like to do better but we are going for it as hard as we can."

The Archbishop spent almost two hours at the school, which was founded in 1871 by the Pollock brothers as part of a Christian mission to meet the educational needs of young people living in the city centre.

Now just eight per cent of its pupils are Christian, while four-fifths are Muslim with families originating mainly from Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

The school's principal David Gould said: "I am delighted that Archbishop Welby visited us. We are very proud of the work that we do, which continues the mission begun 150 years ago."

Mr Gould said that despite the fact that the school has a Church of England ethos, its multi-faith intake means it has strong partnerships with various establishments including Birmingham Central Mosque.

"Our collective Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu parents and those of other faiths or none send their children to St Alban's because of its high expectations and good discipline founded on strong moral and religious principles and because they recognise the value of children being encouraged and supported in their faiths," he added.

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