Letter: Gay teachers' school outing want to come out

Sir: On Sunday, for the first time in eight years, the National Union of Teachers held a debate on lesbian and gay equality. Despite minor differences on the most appropriate union structures to oversee the project, speakers (including Executive members) were unanimous in their support for an annual gay teachers' conference, local support networks and backing teachers who choose to come out at school.

The following morning, the right-wing tabloids were full of predictable, homophobic outrage. I had expected that. What I had not expected was the total silence of supposedly "gay-friendly" papers like your own. If you do share our commitment to building a more tolerant community, why not find space to welcome initiatives such as this one. If only more young children are able to go through school aware that many of the adults they meet there and whom they know and respect are lesbian or gay, we may yet see an end to the prejudice that has blighted the lives of so many people for so many years.

Geof Ellingham

School's Out

London WC1