WALES’ education minister has written to the country’s Catholic secondary schools, reminding them of their duty to give pupils a balanced view when discussing same-sex marriages.

Leighton Andrews stepped in after the Catholic Education Service (CES) asked schools to encourage teachers and pupils to sign a petition against a possible change to the legal definition of marriage, which would open it up to gay couples.

In his letter Mr Andrews said it was “unfortunate”

that the original letter, sent from the Archbishop of Westminster and the Archbishop of Southwark, did not make clear that only students aged over 16 should sign the online petition – something the CES has now clarified.

The minister said he sought advice as to whether the letter breached the Equality Act or political impartiality of the Education Act 1996, but he concluded it did not contain homophobic statements and simply supported preserving the current laws around same-sex marriages.

He added that while the online petition was not directly related to a party political matter, it could be seen as relating to political matters because it sought to lobby the government to prevent a change in the law.

In his letter he reminds head teachers they should not promote political views in the teaching of any subject at school and should take steps to ensure that when political issues were discussed they are offered in a balanced way.

There are two catholic secondary schools in Gwent – St Joseph’s High, in Newport, and St Alban’s, in Pontypool.

Both were unavailable for comment as the Argus went to press.