To send my child to private school until a non-faith state school can take him?

[Waspie]

Three facts about me ? I?m an atheist, I?m a socialist and I have a 4 year old pfb

On principle I?m against private schools and voluntary aided church state schools. And there is my problem. We didn?t get any of the four preferred schools we selected (our catchment school and three nearest by walking distance). Instead my son has been allocated a CofE VA school. Not only is it a faith school but it has the worst KS2 results in the borough, its Ofsted is the worst I?ve ever read and it?s miles away.

The private prep is a ten minute walk away, has class sizes of less than 15, has glowing Ofsted and ISI reports from last year, doesn?t select academically (just first come first served) and every child achieved level 5 SATS in Maths and English at Yr6 last year.

Obviously we?re on all the waiting lists and will appeal to the two of the four which aren?t ICS appeals (catchment school included).

We can?t really afford private school by the way; we?ll be funding it by selling my car, ebaying anything that might be worth more than 10p, cashing in the ISA and re-mortgaging. I appreciate though that we are lucky to even have prep as an option.

So, am I being unreasonable to consider private prep school for my pfb while we are on the waiting lists?

YANBU to send your son to private school

YABU for referring to yourself as a socialist. You obviously arent and your issue with the CofE school is clearly not with the faith but with the results.

I would put my child first at any situation

Just a point of fact, but Tony Blair's children didn't go to private school.

He just played the Catholic card

TheOriginal By all means Cherie is a church goer and Tony converted so not sure its a card.

He even hinted at God re the War so, for good or bad, its a big part of the Blairs lives

Glad there is at least consensus on the pineapple principle.

No Eton brochures Alpine Pony just some CD cases. I did got to an open morning for one of the expensives preps the other day and it is totally different to the one I'm interested in. Justifying? well yes, I have to give up one or the other and the way it's looking at the moment is the politics. Unless the council can get my son placed before September that is.

SauvignonBlanche Clearly. That's my problem. I've spent the last several decades thinking I was. Next thing I'll discover God and just how good pineapple on pizza really is and then I'll fall into an abyss of my own making.

EdithWeston it definately doesn't select academically and it is definately run as a not for profit and offers 6 different bursaries from year 1 onwards. It's not full because it's only been running in it's current form for this academic year. Plus prep schools round here are ten a penny - probably more of them than state schools, more's the pity.

Yes, but I don't think highly-regarded Oratory was the closest Catholic school, that's all I meant! I know they're religious.

snappysnappy - you are wrong. It's the faith I have a problem with. As I said earlier, even it were the best school in the area I wouldn't have applied for it because it's a church school and we're not a christian family.

It may not have been but it is a state school.

What will you do if your son doesn't want to or is upset at moving when the time comes? It's not necessarily as easy as it sounds

You could save your cash of course because you don't have a faith and just let your child sing along with the other children and why they thin jesus wants them for a sunbeam you can teach your child that a sunbeam is just light bending through water droplets. Oh and point out that they are cannibals who get together to eat jesus when they get older. :)

I am clearer as a result of this thread. I know that my atheism means far more to me than my politics when it comes to the needs of my son. And I know that if he doesn't get a place in a non-church state school before the start of the year that I will scrape the money for the prep while we stay on the waiting lists.

The reality is not many 'christian' families are really christian. How many of them sleep with their husbands brother to get pregnant if they are struggling to conceive. And of course how many would offer up their own virgin daughters to get raped to save a visitor from a bit of man love.

I think the answer would be none.

Waspie Why didnt you get into the other non faith schools?

Come on waspie Off your high horse, 'my atheism is more important than politics'
When really its that whats good for your children is more important to you than anything else.
Thats fine I am the same but at least I do admit it

do what you want OP, tis a free country after all.

Just one point all you faith school bashing lot - you DO realise that most poor kids were not considered worthy of schooling at one time ? That the only reason they got any education was because church schools were set up?

It's a hangover from those days - yes let the State take them over but your taxes will rise to buy the grounds, the buildings etc from the church.

Tempted?

God I bloody love MN. Half of posters moan about faith schools having the temerity to exist and the other half are whinging because they can't get their non church going kids in and screaming blue murder.

Strikes me that the faith based schools will never win.

.....and YES I am a right bloody miserable cow today. So if I have pissed anyone off I apologise now.

But what are you going to do if or when you get a place in the State school and by that time your son is very happy where he's going to school, has made friends and doesnt want to move?

Op fwiw u sound a really great and honest person with a brilliant sense of humour.

Do what's best for your kid of course and that's what any sensible caring parent would do.

Novak sounds like a good Saturday night round these parts!

snappysnappy - we applied to our catchment school and the other three schools closes to our home. We didn't get any of them. 10 catchment children didn't get the catchment school. I wouldn't have cared which of these four he got, but he didn't get any. He got a VA school despite not having applied for it!

I'm not sure what you mean. You suggested that I only care about the results of the school. This is untrue because if this was what I wanted I would have applied to the VA Catholic school and the two other CofE schools which have the best results in the borough. But I didn't because I don't want my son at a faith school.

The politics thing is that I don't agree with private schools. I think without them the state schools would be better.

Of course I'm going to do what's best for my son, I hadn't realised that wasn't abundantly clear in most of my posts.

I really don't think you can call yourself a socialist if you're considering private school.

I too am an athiest socialist, but as I live in a small village and there is only one school then my son has to go there. It's C of E; they say prayers, sing hymns, learn how God created the world (please!) but we have to put up with it. He just disregards all the religious claptrap.

I think you'd do better to send your child to the not-so-good faith school than private. After all, moving him to a better school will be much easier than moving him from private to state.

codandchops - your post made me you wrote "God I bloody love MN. Half of posters moan about faith schools having the temerity to exist and the other half are whinging because they can't get their non church going kids in and screaming blue murder."

I'm screaming blue murder because my non church going kid got a church school - I'm feeling part of a community now

ll31 - This is something I've thought about a lot. My son's first [Surestart] nursery was closed down by the Council a year ago and he had to change nursery. He coped really well with the change and is a very outgoing little boy. I think he will be okay with change but it's certainly something that I will consider very seriously if we don't get a place at a state school before Sept.

Boris - I'm at peace with the fact that I am no longer a socialist by any acceptable standard, perhaps I can re-find Marx in my dotage

you cant be that much against it to be considering it TBH, dont most schools have a pastoral care programme ,
Im in scotland and we dont have faith schools like C O E but kids still go to church(end of term) pray and have assemblies do religious stories ,
TBH i think you just like the sound of the school nothing wrong with that but go on admit you are desperate for your child to go to a private school go on you know you want to ,

selling your life for a school isnt worth it tbh your child will get told about jesus in his prvate school ,

Also a left leaning atheist. I would find the money and go private. To paraphase the internets: IMHO Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one. It's fine to be proud of it. It's fine to enjoy it with as many consenting adults as you like. But there is no way you are shoving it down my child's throat.

Mrsjay - Arghhhh, I'm sure you're right. I just don't know anymore. I realise I sound very melodramatic and middle class and that compared to solving world hunger and finding a cure for cancer my little problem is way beyond trivial but I just don't like church involvement in education. I just don't. Maybe that should be irrational, melodramatic and middle class .

Do you think they put pineapple on pizza at private school?