EDUCATION Secretary David Blunkett has lent his support to a Bishop's call for more Christian teachers in the classroom.

Mr Blunkett said he welcomed the appeal of the Bishop of Blackburn, the Right Reverend Alan Chesters, for members of the Church of England across Lancashire to go into teaching.

Speaking exclusively to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph after a service at Blackburn Cathedral yesterday, Mr Blunkett said: "Those who have a faith to guide them are ideal.

"They would make excellent teachers by bringing a true faith and I welcome that, in fact I welcome any campaign aimed at getting more teachers into the classroom."

The Bishop, who welcomed Mr Blunkett to the cathedral to speak during the annual Education Sunday service, said last week that Christians could plug the gap caused by teacher shortages and bring a moral viewpoint into the classroom, as well as supporting church schools in particular of which Blackburn diocese has more than any other diocese in the country.

During the service, attended by more than 500 headteachers, teachers and governors from across the county, Mr Blunkett praised the work of those involved in education.

He said: "We are here to celebrate the enormous committment, dedication and excellence of those who educate, nurture and care for our children and teach them ways of survival as well as ways of earning a living. I would like to thank all heads, teachers and schools."

Mr Blunkett was today launching a Government Green Paper outlining the Government's plans for secondary education, and signalled a greater role for church schools.

He said: "There are nearly 600 secondary schools sponsored by the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. We are pleased to see that the Church of England wishes to increase by 100 the number of secondary schools it supports ... and we know there are areas where Catholic parents have similar wishes.

"We need to do more to support such schools in the future." GUIDING LIGHTS: Mr Blunkett, with his guide dog, is led to his seat by Canon Peter Ballard, with the Bishop of Blackburn behind them