Private schools in museum charge row

Priority for the popular trips is being given to the state sector

Independent schools in Birmingham accused the city council of discrimination over plans to charge them for visits to local museums, galleries and nature centres.

The fee-paying schools said they were not being granted the free sessions enjoyed by pupils in the state sector.

It shows that the Labour view of independent schools hasn't changed in the last four years

Richard Lynn, Independent school head

But the Labour-run city council said their special school tours and workshops had proved highly popular and were always fully booked far in advance.

Priority was given, therefore, to Birmingham schools governed by the local authority.

"Government regulations allow the LEA to keep funds for the schools museum service centrally - monies which would otherwise be delegated to LEA schools," the council said in a statement.

"However, if independent schools would like to approach us to discuss access and costs, we would be very happy to meet them," the statement read.

'Foot-shooting'

But head teacher of the independent private Blue Coat School, Richard Lynn, condemned the move.

"This is a huge foot-shooting exercise in the run-up to the general election.

We hope the work we are doing with the Local Government Association will increasingly make issues of this kind a thing of the past

Independent Schools Information Service

"To my mind, it shows that the Labour view of independent schools hasn't changed in the last four years - it's a case of New Labour, same old prejudice," he said.

A spokesman for the Independent Schools Information Service (Isis) said, while he could not comment on this particular case, the organisation was working hard at a national level to try and improve relationships between independent schools and local education authorities.

"We hope the work we are doing with the Local Government Association will increasingly make issues of this kind a thing of the past," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said the department welcomed the LEA's invitation to independent schools to discuss access to tours and workshops and how this might be funded.