Nun wins industrial tribunal appeal

A nun who was forced to leave her job as a primary school head teacher by her parish priest, who was also chairman of the school governors, has won an industrial tribunal action. Sister Clotilde Stephens had argued at a hearing in Kent that she had to resign from St Bartholomew's Roman Catholic Primary School in Swanley after being stripped of her powers.

She told the tribunal that she had returned from holiday last summer to find that a secret meeting of governors had barred her from buying books and equipment. Valerie Cooney, chairman of the tribunal, said: "Such restrictions would have been a withdrawal of budgetary powers given to the applicant and would have disabled her from carrying out some of her duties as set out in the terms and conditions of her employment." Fran Abrams