I was taking a quick look at the St James website in an effort to discover whether anything had moved on.
It appears that there is a little more information on the "About Us" page and there is now a link to a Frequently asked questions booklet.
http://www.stjamesschools.co.uk/v2/docu ... et-web.pdf
I have to say that whilst this document does at least make the connections between the SES and St James it does have a number of woeful inadequacies.
The booklet refers to the School of Economic Science by its seeming new acronym of SoES. Is this an attempt to dissociate itself from previous criticism or rebrand itself.
It mentions meditation but fails to mention that it is Transcendental Meditation or any link to the origin being the Maharishi Yogi. It also does not mention the origins of Advaita philosophy or recognise its essential Hindu basis and there are no mentions of Sri Santanda Saraswati.
Personally I loathe the way the School of Economic Science refers to itself as an "Educational Charity". What is an Educational Charity?
The booklet fails to mention that Meditation is offered to pupils or that they will be offered the opportunity to join a Foundation Group in the Sixth Form.
Whilst they put across their view that the Lambie has no direct control or influence on the Schools and that they are a separate legal entity I think it would be fair to say that the true picture of the nature of the relationship between the SES and St James can not be understood without references to the Goldschmied 1996 report and Marco Goldschmied's letter to the Inquiry.
There are some good bits about the FAQ. It does point out the Heads are and are likely to continue to be members of the SES. It points out that not all the teachers are but that all teachers are likely to have an "empathy" for the aims and principles of the school.
The final statement on the "about us" page of the website is:
St James Website wrote:This philosophical approach is designed to enhance the capacity to meet today’s needs in a world which too often displays disharmony, misunderstanding and intolerance.
I can honestly say that St James taught me more about intolerance, disharmony and misunderstanding than I have learnt having left school.
Intolerance based on ignorance is one thing but intolerance based on faith or belief, to me, is entirely inexcusable.
Bonsai