St. Luke's Kingston to drop church admissions?

[phpSQLapache]

It is refereshing to see that St. Lukes CE primary in Kingston are consulting on dropping church attendance from its admissions criteria.

They're having a public meeting on Jan 29th, which is worth going along to if you have a view. (Although I've heard some of the current parents are up in arms about it).

More info at: www.stlukes.kingston.sch.uk/news/?pid=3&nid=2&storyid=34

Quote from the vicar:
"For the past 15 years I have worked hard to ensure that the relationship between the Parish and St Luke's School is a close and mutually supportive one. I have taken delight in the many opportunities I have to be part of the full range of School activities and to be actively involved in the weekly worship of the School. As an ex-officio Foundation Governor of the School I value my participation in the Governors and have developed great respect and appreciation for the dedication and abilities of staff and governors.

For quite some time now I have been very uncomfortable with aspects of the Admissions Criteria for the School and in particular the need to keep a register for Church Attendance. I am aware that some parishioners feel that there are those who attend Church only to gain admission for their children and then no longer attend. Both the requirement for recorded attendance and the cynicism about attendance do not contribute to a positive and affirming atmosphere for the nurture of Faith.

The Church of England and its Schools have always seen themselves as serving the local community and not just those in the congregation.

The Christian ethos of St Luke's School is inherent to its Foundation and its ethos as expressed in the Admission Policy and in statements of policy covering the entire curriculum. There are Foundation Governors appointed by the Parish and Diocese to ensure that ethos and living link with the Church. The Governors of the School have always affirmed and respected that ethos and link.

At the last Governors meeting I signalled that I wished to propose that the Church Membership criteria be removed for 2016. I have done so because I believe that the criteria does not contribute in a constructive way to the ethos of the School or the Mission of the Parish. I genuinely believe that this change would make no difference to that vital ethos or integral relationship."

[BreconBeBuggered]

Sounds like a reasonable approach to me, but it's the one used by my nearest CE primary so I am not immersed in the whole prayers-for-places culture. Why do some local parents oppose this move? Does it blunt their sharp elbows or something?

[phpSQLapache]

On the back of this St. Luke's story, the local paper is now running an online poll on whether schools should be allowed to use church attendance in their admissions policies: www.kingstonguardian.co.uk/news/11753108.Kingston_Church_of_England_school_considers_dropping_church_attendance_from_admissions_policy/

[CherryEmma]

Hi phpSQLapache thanks for your thread.

There's a live thread on MN Local too, would you mind copying your post above to Local?

Here's the link:

goo.gl/4PuifY

Thank you

Local Editor