In response to Fr Adrian Porter SJ (Letters, 26 July), I did not say that the number of secondary school pupils taking GCSE religious studies (or A level religious studies) had declined over the past 10 years, as might have been implied by the wording of Christopher Lamb’s article “Lessons in survival” (19 July). What I said was that overall numbers doing GCSE religious studies (RS) in England, including both “full courses” and “short courses”, have declined by some 15 per cent since 2012 (source: the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education). This trend seems likely to affect A level numbers, particularly once the impact of 16-19 funding changes and of reforms to GCSE and A level specifications and structures begins to be fel