I CANNOT believe that there are still schools whose teachers are so small-minded they would deny children the pleasures and joy of Christmas.

I thought Enfield schools had grown more tolerant over the last few years.

Like it or not, and clearly there are those in education who don't like it, we are a Christian country with Christian values.

Our major institutions are based on a thousand years of Christian tradition. What right have a few teachers to deny hundreds of children access to their rightful heritage and how on earth do they justify banning Christmas under the edict of equal opportunities?

Just imagine how those schoolchildren must feel. No tree, no decoration, no carols, no Christmas story -- a story so simple that every child can understand and relate to -- a central message of love, peace and goodwill.

What a poverty of spirit surrounds this decision by an Enfield primary school not to celebrate or mark this major event in the Christian calendar.

Clearly, this Christmas, in Enfield, there is still no room at the inn, nearly two thousand years after the birth of Christ.

CELIA GOOCH,

Victoria Road,

Edmonton.

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