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Original poster

Catholic schools LAC policy

14 replies

redkelvo · 05/03/2019 14:10

Hi, we have twin 10 year olds in year 5 & are considering which schools to choose for them. The best schools in our area are both catholic single sex schools but we are concerned they have no chance in getting in as they are not catholic. LAC non faith are 3 or 4 on the priority list depending on the school so is it even worth applying? Thanks!

OP posts:
Maiyakat · 05/03/2019 15:26

Same situation here, you'd think the Catholic churches would be bursting at the seams with all the 'Catholics' in our borough! It's infuriating but at the moment nothing you can do about it. There's no harm in applying, you do get odd year where there are fewer children than normal so there's always a chance, and it won't diminish your priority for your second choice school. If you look on your local authority website it will tell you what admission criteria they went down to over the past few years.

bellinisurge · 05/03/2019 15:35

LAC were first on the list at our Catholic schools, Catholic or not.

thefirst48 · 05/03/2019 15:40

If your not catholic then why think of applying to a catholic school! You'll be moaning in a few years they are been taught to much about faith!

bellinisurge · 05/03/2019 16:19

My dd (who didn't get into a Catholic secondary- we are Catholics and she went to a Catholic primary) is very grateful she doesn't have RE three times a week like her old school pals. And doesn't have to do RE GCSE. We are rubbish Catholic's btw and she only went to catholic primary because I couldn't get her into the non-Catholic local primary which was oversubscribed.

SheldonandMama · 05/03/2019 16:25

They probably have a reasonable chance of getting in. What is the RC vs non-RC mix? At ours it's 50:50. If it's offering good pastoral care then I'd go for it. However, RE GCSE does not appeal to everyone and it is probably compulsory. One dc enjoyed RE but she is frustrated with the GCSE, another dc asked to move, one reason being the number of RE lessons and a refusal to do the GCSE... If they already have a good grounding in RC teaching that may help...can't promise though.

donquixotedelamancha · 05/03/2019 16:30

LAC non faith are 3 or 4 on the priority list depending on the school so is it even worth applying?

You will be ahead of all the other non-catholics. Most catholic schools take some non-catholics, so it may well be worth it, but you will know how oversubscribed they are more than us.

Are you sure this is the policy for both, it's relatively uncommon now- many (most?) Catholic schools have LAC at number one, regardless of faith.

If your not catholic then why think of applying to a catholic school!

Yes, the OP has been very cryptic about this: The best schools in our area are both catholic single sex schools

You'll be moaning in a few years they are been taught to much about faith!

Some people do this, those people are idiots, I see no reason to think OP is an idiot. Have you mixed up the adoption support boards with AIBU?

bellinisurge · 05/03/2019 16:35

The school you want should publish their criteria and also how far down the criteria list they went last year before they were full. For ours it was LAC (both Catholic and non Catholics) first, then children from feeder catholic schools, then siblings of current pupils then other Catholics then non Catholics . If there is a "tie" at subscription full point it goes to distance from home to school as the crow flies.

Italiangreyhound · 05/03/2019 16:56

Just go for it. WE are Christians and C of E but chose not to go to the local C of E school because it didn't seem as good as the local non-C of E school.

You choose what is best for your kids and hopefully you will get in, good luck.

Italiangreyhound · 05/03/2019 16:56

Sorry We not WE!

Original poster
redkelvo · 05/03/2019 17:08

Out of 150 places, 132 went to baptised catholics so pretty heavy weighting towards RC!

OP posts:
bellinisurge · 05/03/2019 17:32

It's a Catholic school. Of course it has mostly catholic children. I don't know why LAC are so far down the list at the ones you were looking at. They were top of the list at the ones in our area. Regardless of whether they were catholic.

PoppyStellar · 05/03/2019 19:25

It’s quite common for catholic schools to put non catholic LAC way down the admissions criteria. It’s a particular bug bear of mine that they are allowed to do this. It’s good to hear that some catholic schools are more inclusive and include all LAC as first priority but certainly in my LA this is definitely not the case.

As others say, it’s definitely worth a shot but I’d go and visit some of the non catholic schools (if there are any that you’d consider) so that you have a guaranteed back up choice to put on the application form, and one that you’d be happy with if you don’t get in to the catholic schools.

Maiyakat · 05/03/2019 20:39

Admissions policy at our local Catholic school has 14 points, none Catholic LAC is point 9. This year's admissions they got to point 5.... There are over 3 times as many applications as places.They haven't admitted any none Catholic children as far back as the records on the website go.

As to why I'd want DD to go to a Catholic school when we're not Catholic - high schools in our borough are not good. This school is outstanding both pastorally and in helping children reach their academic potential. We are Christian although not Catholic; I'd be happy for the religious input.

bellinisurge · 05/03/2019 21:12

Weird - no such restrictions on non Catholic LAC in my area. Which is a very catholic area.
Also a fair number of non-Catholics in Catholic schools here too.

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