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Schools 'ignoring' Nativity play
BBC news
12/16/2004
One in four teachers say their schools are not putting on Christmas carol services, according to a survey.
Meanwhile, more than one in seven primary staff claim there will be no Nativity play staged this year, the Times Educational Supplement said.
Some 59% of teachers said schools would put on a non-religious end-of-term celebration, many citing pupils' wide range of faiths as the reason.
Mori researchers interviewed 789 teachers in England and Wales.
'Run on tea-towels'
Of these, 28% said some form of multi-faith celebration was being staged.
But a Church of England spokesman said: "The Nativity play is alive and well.
"Nativity plays are held in almost all primary schools, including those with many children from different faith backgrounds.
"Not for nothing was there a run on tea-towels for head-dresses in recent weeks."
He added: "An overwhelming majority of primary and secondary schools hold carol concerts as part of the generally high level of religious observance related to Christmas."
In recent years, even many Church of England primary schools have performed updated versions of the Nativity play.
Provided by sheet music companies, these often focus on different characters and figures from the biblical story of Jesus' birth.
In one, the focus is the star leading Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and, in another, it is the inn-keeper who gives them shelter in a stable.
The TES survey found nearly 62% of teachers interviewed said they believed in God.
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