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Original poster

What's God got to do with it?!

58 replies

Fruitflylady · 13/10/2016 10:43

I'm a bit cross; choosing a secondary school for my yr 6 DS and our closest school (10-15 min walk) is judged outstanding, great exam results, amazing facilities (it has a swimming pool ffs!) etc., etc. The only problem is that it is a catholic school and as such we are right at the bottom of the admissions criteria, my son having the misfortune to have been born to atheist parents.
The next nearest school is a fairly bog standard comp, recently downgraded by ofsted to 'requires improvement'.
The next after that, actually in the town we live in, but a good 40min walk, has been 'requiring improvement' for the last goodness knows how many years, is undersubscribed, suffers a bad reputation, in the middle of a council estate, and is now undergoing a consultation with the local council to either academise it or merge with the nearby outstanding junior and infant schools to become a 4-16 through school. On the plus side, they have an amazing headteacher, who is full of enthusiasm and ambition, and on my visits to the school I have been impressed by how happy all the students and staff seem. Their exam results are appalling though!

What on earth should I do? How can I choose between these schools?!

OP posts:
anon123456 · 13/10/2016 17:02

Can't you move house to a different area, or go private?
You really wouldn't want to go to Catholic school if your atheist.

ErnesttheBavarian · 13/10/2016 17:01

but weren't faith school set up for kids of that faith. then they opened the door to take others, once the faith kids were accommodated. whats wrong with that?

if a club or whatever is set up e.g. for women, then men start saying they want to join too, women would rightly say the club was set up by them, for them. what's the difference?

PotteringAlong · 13/10/2016 16:50

is undersubscribed, suffers a bad reputation, in the middle of a council estate

Really? In the middle of a council estate is in the list of your thing against it?

BertrandRussell · 13/10/2016 16:48

"If God is not your thing, surely you don't want your child going to a religious school?"

I have no idea whether you are a person of faith or not-but this is just the sort of arrogant, privileged remark that gives Christians a bad name.

ExitPursuedBySpartacus · 13/10/2016 16:36

Aye them bastard Catholics.

You wouldn't want your son associating with them.

Isn't there a bus to the one in the town with the happy pupils?

ErrolTheDragon · 13/10/2016 16:19

Discriminating against kids because of their parents' beliefs or lack thereof stinks, doesn't it.

RedHelenB · 13/10/2016 12:52

Schools can & do change. Our nearest has gone from requires improvement to more or less Nat ave for gcses over the last 2 years so I would look at local school and see how it feels. At the end of the day it doesn't matter to you how many get the gcses but whether your DS does.

Riversiderunner · 13/10/2016 11:37

If God is not your thing, surely you don't want your child going to a religious school?