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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that the only primary school in town should NOT be a religious one?

77 replies

BornSicky · 03/12/2011 16:13

I live in a rural area, but the population of the town is about 3000.

The only primary school in the town is CofE and it is very religious. Just been in there today and there are bibles out on tables, quotes tacked to the walls, little prayers posted up and around with moral epithets etc etc

I live just a few minutes walk away and the only other primary schools in the area are a good few miles to drive and pretty oversubscribed.

It really annoys me that the school is the only option if you live here and either can't drive or don't have time to drive out to another school.

I thought there might have been a way to exclude a child from the religious activities, but it's all permeating, and even then to do so would be pretty hard on a child who didn't get involved.

Poor show from the LEA to not have a mixed faith or no faith school, or AIBU?

OP posts:
catsrus · 03/12/2011 16:20

I think YABU to be honest, the reason there is a school there at all is because the church built it - whether we like it or not there is no separation of church and state here, the CofE is the state religion. To support such a small community it would probably require that school to be shut in order for a non CofE one to be opened - would that be reasonable?

Personally I think there should be a separation of church and state - but the reality is I was born into a country with this system and it doesn't bother me enough that I would campaign to change it

scaevola · 03/12/2011 16:23

How old is the school? Does it antedate the beginning of the state school system?

Chances are, in a one-school town it does.

So the answer will be that the LA always had higher calls upon its cash, lawyers and other officials' time than in arranging a (unique) buy out of the Church's real estate and buildings.

Original poster
BornSicky · 03/12/2011 16:25

well... no. the LEA pay for the school £2 million last year, (it was nearly completely rebuilt).

so, the country's tax has paid for and continues to pay for it, not the church, so I don't think given that the whole country isn't CofE that it should be allowed to preach Christian Ideology to little children.

Incidentally, there is a separation of church and state as regards the law in this country... oft unknown though.

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GoEasyPudding · 03/12/2011 16:26

I would be very very annoyed too. In my village theres a C of E and a regular primary. Thank goodness for that. I am lucky though.
I wonder if you can get any more info on how religious it really is? You may have seen these things around the place but how does it impact the day to day teaching? Time to investigate!

When I was at school my schools were not Cof E's and yet it was all prayers, and visits to the church, and christian songs at assembley and yet it had no effect on me, that was the 70's and 80's. I'm not even christened, feeling very atheist these days and yet have the correct background knowledge to understand history and art history a bit better......

As long as they are not teaching creationlisim then I think it might be ok?

AnotherMincepie · 03/12/2011 16:27

YABU - agree with catsrus

scaevola · 03/12/2011 16:28

If the Church owns the land, it owns the land.

If it owns the buildings, it owns the buildings. It doesn't matter who pays for maintenance or rebuilding.

Property law is very clear.

daveywarbeck · 03/12/2011 16:28

I bet the church owns the land though Bornsicky.

daveywarbeck · 03/12/2011 16:29

x posted with scaveola.

Pakdooik · 03/12/2011 16:31

I've only been on MN for a couple of months and this one has come up any number of times. It's a Christian school - it'll teach the Christian message in a Christian way. It's doing what it was set up to do

You may as well complain about NatWest not offering your car an MOT.

If you're so much of an anti-religious fundamentalist make the effort to go to the nearest secular school.

Original poster
BornSicky · 03/12/2011 16:32

possibly does scaevola and davey, but you'd think that if they were going to rebuild the school and spend all that money they'd at least deal with religious aspect.

and goeasypudding it is prayers at the end of lessons, every subject framed with religious context/thoughts etc. it would be like sending a child to church daily.

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squeakytoy · 03/12/2011 16:32

It honestly would not bother me. I am not overly religious and nor were my parents, but my local school was C of E. I enjoyed the church stuff, purely because it was a change from lessons when we all trundled over the road to the church at harvest time, xmas, easter etc.. didnt turn me into a religious zealot, or affect my education either.

Original poster
BornSicky · 03/12/2011 16:35

pakdooik you can't be an "anti-religious fundamentalist"...it's an oxmoron.

and i will send my child elsewhere. point is that i shouldn't have to. it;s fine and important to learn about lots of faiths and none; what's not (imho) is to use public money to promote one over any other (or secularism), especially without providing another choice.

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TeddyBare · 03/12/2011 16:37

YANBU. Is it worth speaking to other local parents to try to campaign to reduce the level of religiousness in the school? I would also write to my MP if I were you, because it?s not on that you don?t have any other option. We?ve managed to move on as a country in so many other respects, so I don?t understand the argument that it?s tradition so it should stay / it?s impossible to do anything to change it. Lots of things have been tradition, we then realised that they were no longer appropriate and changed them.

OurPlanetNeptune · 03/12/2011 16:38

maybe, just maybe the majority of the villagers do not mind and do not want a change and that is why the £2m was spent on this school.

At the end of the day you are not forced to send your children there and if it bothers you so much lobby the powers that be and make a change.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 03/12/2011 16:39

I'm in the same situation. Only one school in the village, it's a CofE primary. As are all the primaries in the neighbouring villages. To find the nearest non-CofE school we'd have to drive to town, and wouldn't be in catchment. So my children are at the CofE primary. I'm an atheist. I don't know what they are yet, we'll find out.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 03/12/2011 16:41

YANBU state funded schools should be entirely secular.

WhyFrank · 03/12/2011 16:42

Love the thought of an ox moron!

We are in a similar position here and have resigned ourselves to sending DS to the church school. The religious teaching does not seem as pervasive as you are describing though, and we are happy so far.

Annoying though.

BoffinMum · 03/12/2011 16:42

I find it baffling you are allowed to choose a school on the basis of religious preference, and the Local Authority will pay for your children to be transported there if necessary, but you can't choose a non-religious school and get free transport.

OldGreyWassailTest · 03/12/2011 16:44

Just home educate FFS - that way religion can't creep in, can it? Oh, except for Christmas, and Easter.........all those presents and eggs.

OddBaubles · 03/12/2011 16:45

Is this part of the motivation in bringing in Free Schools? So parents can give themselves another choice if they feel they want or need to.

scaevola · 03/12/2011 16:46

Bornsicky: they could of course build and open an entirely new school (ie not on the Church owned site).

That would be a much more expensive option, and it is always imprudent to create an oversupply of places. Especially if cuts are having to be made elsewhere in the LA budget. I really do not think the country can afford to buy out the Church at present.

Original poster
BornSicky · 03/12/2011 16:46

i'm glad a few agree...

didn't know about the transport- that's some really twisted logic

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scaevola · 03/12/2011 16:47

"I find it baffling you are allowed to choose a school on the basis of religious preference, and the Local Authority will pay for your children to be transported there if necessary, but you can't choose a non-religious school and get free transport".

No longer true. They no longer pay for any school but the nearest to offer a place. (Not just a faith issue - dire for every level of parental choice).

OurPlanetNeptune · 03/12/2011 16:48

oxmoron ???? And fyi "anti-religious fundamentalist" is an acceptable term. It is an etymological fallacy to suggest that fundamentalism only refers to religious fanaticism.

Original poster
BornSicky · 03/12/2011 16:49

fair point scaevola would be interesting to compare the cost of buy versus the amount of public money that gets spent on the church though.

i think free schools are definitely not about giving wider choice; they're about allowing personal agendas to dominate education.

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