GLASGOW’S own Hollywood star Peter Mullan has backed the values system he learned while at a Catholic school following a row over state funding.

The Braveheart, Trainspotting and Harry Potter actor spoke out after calls for faith schools to be scrapped in Scotland.

Campaign group, the Scottish Secular Society, slammed Glasgow City Council over plans to hold a civic reception to mark the centenary of state-funded Catholic education in the country, this week.

READ MORE: Row over plans to celebrate 100th anniversary of Catholic schools in Glasgow

Mullan, who wrote The Magdalene Sisters, has come under fire in the past from the Vatican’s Osservatore Romano newspaper, who described the film as a “provocation”.

But, despite falling out with the church, he admitted lessons learned at Lourdes Secondary School helped him to become the man he is.

He said: “I’m not Catholic now and I’m not particularly religious now.

“Obviously I’ve had my disputes with the clergy with the Magdalene Sisters and what happened in Ireland, Scotland and elsewhere. I would still take issue with a lot of the Catholic doctrine.

“Having said that, there was a values system that even as a young kid I always appreciated.

READ MORE: Row over plans to celebrate 100th anniversary of Catholic schools in Glasgow

“I liked the idea of the collective and more than anything I liked the idea that it is better to give than receive.

“That always struck me as a good philosophy because it was just and it seemed fair. I’ll always appreciate having learned that from school.”

His fallout with the church stemmed from his portrayal of four girls, who were inmates of the Magdalene Asylum in Ireland, and who suffered cruelty at the hands of nun ‘Sister Bridget’ and priest Father Fitzroy.

Peter was speaking as he picked up an honorary degree of Doctor of Drama from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland yesterday.

READ MORE: Row over plans to celebrate 100th anniversary of Catholic schools in Glasgow

His comments came just a day after John Duncan, Vice Chairman of the Scottish Secular Society, spoke out against Glasgow City Council holding a civic reception to celebrate Catholic education.

Mr Duncan said: “Dividing children based on the religious views of their parents is a sure-fire way of preserving discrimination in this country.

“State-funded Catholic schools existed in the beginning to combat anti-Catholic discrimination in Scotland. But it has gone on too long and it has created and shored up divisions.

“We would like to see the end of faith schools.”

Glasgow’s education convener Chris Cunningham announced last week that the council would mark the centenary of the Education (Scotland) Act 1918, which introduced state funding to Catholic schools.

He insisted Scotland is more tolerant today than it was in the past. And he claimed that Catholic schools were “inclusive” and “welcoming”.

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow praised the council’s announcement.

He said: “Glasgow has more Catholic schools than any city in Scotland and the contribution of pupils and staff over the last century to the life of the city has been enormous.

“The First Minister acknowledged very powerfully, in her Cardinal Winning lecture last month that Catholic schools are good for Scotland.

“This decision by the city administration is an acknowledgement that they are also good for Glasgow.”

READ MORE: Row over plans to celebrate 100th anniversary of Catholic schools in Glasgow