THE idea that children of different religions can share a school campus successfully should not be a huge surprise.

The principle was difficult for some church leaders, teachers and politicians to accept.

But the success of the facilities shared by St Andrew's Primary and Cumbernauld Primary shows that, with the right attitude, anything is possible.

People of different religions mix successfully all the time in Scotland and, apart from those cranks with extremist views, tolerance is now the order of the day.

With school rolls falling and public spending budgets becoming ever tighter, shared campuses also make economic sense.

And they allow freedom for religious education while providing opportunities for children from different backgrounds to mix in the playground.

Since they do that on the street or down the park playing football or other games, what's the difference? Cut the red tape without delay

THE bureaucrats preventing Rae Harking from getting her passport should be ashamed of themselves.

They represent everything that gives civil servants a bad name.

It's outrageous a decent, hard-working person could be denied a holiday because of red tape.

These people must get their heads out of the sand and join the real world.

Instead of putting obstacles in Rae's way, they should help solve her problem without further delay.