I NOTE with interest your report of the First Minister considering the possibility of a state-funded, parent-controlled Catholic school in Milngavie (“Sturgeon enters talks over radical plan for new school”, The Herald, October 24). I taught for many years in both denominational and non-denominational schools and during those years regularly heard the argument that this was a divisive system.

I was aware that both sets of schools contained significant numbers (of pupils and staff) who were from the ''other side''.

Never did I experience, in the classroom, in the staffroom or in the playground any religious bigotry, yet “experts” on the outside would loudly proclaim this division of schooling to be the root cause of this evil.

Bigotry, racism, prejudice, intolerance – call it what you will, is not taught in school. The fact that denominational schools exist is not the cause of division. Does anyone really believe that were these schools to be abolished tomorrow that religious bigotry would disappear? The growth of Islamophobia is not due to there being separate schools for followers of Islam.

I hear the argument that if some groups wish to have separate schools for religious purposes then let them fund them themselves. So, if separate schooling is the cause of religious bigotry, is it acceptable as long as they are funded privately .

We need more tolerance and fewer knee-jerk statements that ''my views are right, so yours must be wrong”.

James Mills,

29 Armour Square, Johnstone.