It is quite understandable that some of the parents of children at Bradford's three Catholic secondary schools - St Bede's Grammar, St Joseph's College and Yorkshire Martyrs College - should have serious concerns about the wisdom of the merger move being proposed by their owners, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds.

The case for amalgamating the schools into a single 2,900-place co-educational establishment on the St Bede's site at Highgate, Heaton, refurbished with the help of £10 million of Government cash is largely based on a fall in the number of Catholic pupils and a growing surplus of places for non-Catholics. Hence the move is considered necessary to preserve a Catholic ethos in education in Bradford.

To set against that, though, are several significant and very valid arguments. The move from a school of modest scale to something with a population approaching 3,000 might prove intimidating for many youngsters. The removal of places for non-Catholics could be considered a backward step in a society which is striving towards community cohesion.

And, of course, there are the travel difficulties that will arise if children in the Yorkshire Martyrs catchment area are relocated to a site in the north. It is a long journey from Westgate Hill Street to Heaton along an already traffic-choked Tong Street.

Leeds Diocese should listen seriously to the parents' concerns and if necessary look at ways of modifying their plan, perhaps by turning the three schools into two, one in the north of the city and the other in the south and of a more manageable size than the proposed single, massive one currently envisaged.