Ms Salway said the Bishop of Llandaff High School's governing body and headteacher had welcomed the opportunity to place an autism centre on site and had worked closely with the local education authority on the project.

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He was also chaplain at Moira House Girls School in Eastbourne until 2003 and chair of governors at St Mary's special school in Bexhill and Bishop Bell school in Eastbourne.

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Bishop Walter Mixa had also been under pressure over allegations of financial irregularities at a children's school under his responsibility.

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St Boniface's Catholic College was founded by the Bishop of Plymouth in 1856 as an independent boarding and day school for "young Catholic gentlemen".

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