Bishop Gilpin parents - And you call yourselves Christians?? (MERTON SCHOOLS)

[NutellaWithEverything]

Name changed because I need to rant about my DS not having been offered a school place and don't want to be outed. I am in Wimbledon and my nearest school in Bishop Gilpin. My DS has not been accepted to start in Reception this September coming even though it takes us three minutes to get there. Yet, they take in children from the other side of Wimbledon even though they have to drive through town to get there. And why?? Because they go to the right churches. So last November there was a request from the Council to add another Reception class but parents voted against other children from their own community benefiting from attending a good school. They felt it would be in the detriment of their school's community feel!!!!! AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THIS IS SELFISH, SHORT-SIGHTED, UN-GODLY AND JUST PLAIN WRONG?????????????????

No but he probably wont get a place in the faith secondary school.

Agreed Cristina, but in Merton and roundabouts it all starts again at secondary level and the requirement varies from two years to five years twice a week when the application forms go in and if you meet the attendance criteria and you are on the PCC, run the Sunday School, serve at the altar, sing in the choir, it all counts. I know one lady who polished the silver and pressed the altar cloths every week to get her boys into Brompton Oratory.

go to Garfield Primary school its a really nice (or was a long time ago) primary school

i went to bishop gilpin for a few terms and then swapped and was much happier it was a faith school but i am not christened and neither were my cousins or did we attend church.

its always been quite a picky school, many children from there then went off to private schools and probably still the same

Gah, I hadn't thought about secondaries, I thought all went private from then on.

It does seem unfair not to get a place at your closest school when you know damn well that others WILL have got a place for basically being hypocrites and attending "the right" church just for that purpose. I have no problem with faith schools taking children from their own faith first (as that is the whole point of the school) BUT it does annoy me when people "find religion" from oh, approximately their DC's 2nd birthday to being offered a school place.

YANBU OP. At all. Schools should not be allowed to pick and choose pupils on the basis of being middle class faith. Faith schools in my area don't just stipulate church attendance but parents must show evidence of voluntary/community work. Great, if you are a SAHM with time and money on your hands. Not so great if you are a single parent working all hours.

These schools bus in kids from a different county yet kids from down the road get refused. The system stinks. I don't think schools which are state funded have any right to use faith as a yardstick.

I don't attend church myself but I have enough respect for God not to attend church purely to get my child into the best school which is what the majority of a large number of so called Christians in this country are doing.

In any case, the OP is not saying that the school should not admit children on the basis of faith but is saying that it is selfish not to increase the number of classes to accommodate demand. It is indeed selfish and snobbish (let's keep the riff-raff out )

The picture on CofE schools and FSM is not exactly as suggested above. Though some schools have low numbers on FSM, the proportion of CofE schools with 30% or more on FSM is the same as the national average.

Not all faith schools are CofE (though the one under discussion in this thread is), and I'm not sure of proportions for different denominations and faiths. RC schools tend to be more inclusive/diverse (presumably because the denomination is more international).

Judging from this thread...I think the school made the right decision.

Lots of parents find themselves in similarly dissapointing positions..not getting their children into the schools of their choice (for whatever reason), but to come on here, name the school and have a rant about it seems a tad unfair to me.

I think the school has the right to choose their selection criteria...especially when christianity gets so little support and understanding in the wider community nowadays and is so often subjected to ridicule. They need parents that are going to support what they teach and the ethos of the school...and if selecting church attendees is one way of achieving this then sobeit.

sausagesandmarmelade it isn't just Christians contributing to support the school with their taxes, is it?

And I cannot judge other parents who attend church for the sole purpose of getting their DC into a school. The hypocrisy starts at State level for allowing this to happen and school level for discriminating. You do what you can in the end.

I chose for my child to go to a faith school. I also chose him to be baptised into that faith. As a child baptised to that faith, I consider it his right to be educated in the values and sacraments of that church. If he hadnt got into the school, I swear I would have been right up to the bloody archbishops door demanding he find a place for him
The school is where ds will learn the most about his religion (as well as from the family of sourse). The school is where he will get his sacrements. It is our and his right as catholics to have him get that. We promised the church we would bring our children up in the faith when we made our vows and when he was baptised.
Thats why he would have priority over someone not baptised into the faith who lives next door to the school.

By the way, we dont have any sunday school...ALL religious education is done through the school (yes I know, at home too)

Nutella,
Your problem is with your LEA, not the school in question. You should have been offered a school. And it is the state failing you, for not building enough schools.

And when it comes to that particular school, I know people with children in that school, who were very concerned if the school were to take on another class of 30 children. In 7 years, they will have 7 x 30 more children to cope with, as if you increase with one class size, you do increase by 30 children every year until year 7. They were concerned that this would have a detrimental effect not just from a religious perspective. But in terms of space and buildings, and other education related things.
Expanding this particular school was perhaps not the right solution for the lack of school places in the borough.

Also, faith schools are not funded in the same way as a non-denominational school. Parents have to be involved with a LOT of fundraising. And baking. My son went to an rc primary, and youd think parents had no work outside their duties related to school! People who share the faith and the ethos of the school accept this, and pull together to raise the money for the school. If Bishop Gilpin were to add 30x7 new sets of parents who did not share this view, and would pull their weight equally, the school WOULD suffer. The funding would no increase proportionally with the new number of pupils.

Merton know they have a serious problem, there are more children than places for this year and next. I think they are trying to address it with extra classes, but for it to be fair they would need to give every school a second class.
I spoke to someone else the other day who didn't get a place, and they said the closest admittance is 150m!! Obviously that doesn't include the faith children from miles away.
It really is a minefield, you think you live in a nice area, and you pick your house for the local school and it still doesn't happen. It's nonsense, I feel for you OP.
I'm in a similar position, but don't like our local school, so will be pushed into private also.

lol i always laugh at people are not religious that get the arse with religious people. they suddenly denounce them as not behaving in the way their religion says they should because they are not doing some you want them to ie thats not very Christian of you or thats ungodly.
i am not particularly religious but it seems a tad hypocritical of non religious people to start spouting this at people who are in an attempt to get them to do what you want, its an odd kind of bullying.

I think it is a mistake to assume people who attend church and have school age children are doing so simply because of the school issue. People do have faith you know!

I think what some of us are saying is that accepting money (via taxes) from non-religious people but then closing their doors to the DC of those very people is hypocritical. Like having your cake and eating it.

But religious people pay taxes too and some of those taxes go on things that we will never use/want.

It is how taxation works. We all pay and then dip into the pot for the bits we need.

Since its half funded, how do you know your taxes dont go to the non faith and ours go to the faith ones? Or should I be complaining that my taxes go towards educating atheist children?

That is naive nutella, my tax possibly went to funding an islamic school, or a jewish school, for all that I know, rather than to funding the actual RC primary that my son went to. But I paid tax, and my child had a school place, one that we additionally had to work our proverbial arses of for, to raise money. Christmas Fair, Summer fete, monthly bake sales, raffles, book events, quizz night, and what have you.

On the other hand, why should people of no faith be rewarded with a good state primary where they do not have to fundraise and pull money out of their ears?

so the OPs child cannot attend because they are not a "fully paid up member?"
going to church makes you no more a christian than sitting in a garage makes you a car

very judgemental

Not read all thread.

The system is shit.

However.

You knew the rules, you knew the admission code. You must have known your children wouldn't get in. You should have thought about this properly before.

Loads of parents round here in your position because they didn't read the admissions codes, and they didn't do their research.

no the ops child couldn't attend as the 50% of open places were full.
Going by the fact that there is a lack of school places in merton you will also have faith children who didn't get in. Maybe they are on another site now having a rant that their child didn't get a place in their local faith school where as a child of non faith has a place.

We didnt have to prove we go to mass, just that ds was baptised. The point is not whether or not we are church goers or "christians" but that we chose (and promised) to have ds brought up in the catholic faith. (that does involve the religious education at school and us taking him to mass though).
OP would you be happy for your child to do RE every day?

anotheracademic, non religious schools do not discriminate against people of faith, and that's the way it should be. Also, I don't understand the argument that non-faith parents won't get involved in fundraising events to raise money for the school their DC attend. Why not??