Baptised to get in to a school?

[mummy21boy]

So there is a very good catholic school in our catchment area but to be in with a good chance of getting in you’d need to be a baptised catholic. Dh was brought up catholic but isn’t religious so we haven’t had ds baptised but dh thinks we should now to get him into this school.. aibu to think this is morally wrong?

Then send your kids to a non faith school. Problem solved. Everyone is happy.

Are you being wilfully thick here?

The people who think it's easy to pick a non faith school as an alternative plainly don't understand the realities of school admissions in many areas. In my town there is almost no choice at secondary level. Fortunately there aren't faith schools in the mix!

Are people truly comfortable with the idea of gaming the system just so their child will attend a "better" school? What does that suggest about your own values?

There are a number of options:

-you can move
-you can consider an online or homeschool program
-you can accept that your child will get into a less desirable school and do your own additional work with them at home

I think it is very disingenuous to say "well, I'm prepared to essentially sacrifice my personal Integrity just to get my child into a school". The reality is that Catholic schools don't just have church services and crosses. Catholicism is meant to be a way of life for the school. If you are not prepared to accept that you have NO business enrolling your child.

Anyone who thinks that getting a child baptised/attending church to get them into a local state-funded school is a greater moral evil than state-sponsored discrimination against four year olds has a pretty fucked up moral compass
True

Most of the schools in in my local area are faith schools and have even more strict admission criteria than this. You have to be baptised and attend church at least once a month for a year.

I’m an atheist and it totally goes against my values so I will not be doing it.

The faith school system is morally wrong. It has been shown time and again to benefit wealthy middle class families and leave the rest behind. It damages social cohesion and segregates children along religious and ethnic lines - something we should be doing everything we can to avoid.

Go for it. Your DC have every bit as much right to a good local school as anyone.

Dozens of my colleagues have sent their children to the huge and massively oversubscribed big-achieving RC secondary school in the area.

My anecdotal experience is that the intensive, full-on Catholicism required to gain a place there strangely peters out once all the siblings are safely ensconced in the school. No-one checks that you’re still attending church twice a month or even that you’re still a believer.

Catholicism may well be a “way of life for the school”. Pupils and their families? Not so much.

High-achieving

converseandjeans

Did you read my previous posts? It’s discrimination.

I'd say it would be wrong to baptise a child if the motive is simply to get the child into a school. Not as wrong as the atheist parents who fake religion to the point where they will attend church and lie about their faith. But it is in a similar vein.

Also wrong to get a child to lie about their own faith.

Of course if the child themselves has the faith and wants to be baptised, that is another matter.

I'd check out the Catholic school first to see how full on the Catholicism is.

My child attended a Catholic school but it had a fair sprinkling of other faiths and none. The religion was definitely there but in a background way.

For example the grace said at lunchtimes was sometimes "rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub" accompanied by the children rubbing their tummies. It was an acknowledgement of thanks without being overtly religious. Obviously the priest attended for lunch once a month or so and the grace would be a full on prayer.... except for one memorable occasion when he joined the children in the "rub a dub dub" grace which they loved.

It was a good mix and relaxed attitude.

How do they select the non-Catholic students? If any select my academic achievements you won’t need to worry. Most high performing religious schools tend to keep A LOT of spaces for high performing kids of other religions.

Of course if the child themselves has the faith and wants to be baptised, that is another matter.

This is of course so common amongst three year olds

Wasn’t it one of the big Catholic schools which got into trouble about selecting in the way they did? The Oratory I believe....where Tony Blair’s children went.

I think they had academic and religious selection. I could be wrong though.

My understanding is they can’t hold places for high performing children of other faiths unless it’s clearly stated as part of their selection process.

Didn't The Oratory persist with interviewing candidates when it shouldn't have?

Yes you may well be correct there ....something to do with asking about parents occupations as well as I recall.

“Daddy is the Prime Minister is he? Well this will be your classroom, this is your teacher and this is where you hang your coat”

Yeah ....sounds about right,

Unless Catholic schools make particular accommodations for children of traveller families, I suspect they may struggle to prove they meet religious criteria in those schools that require certificates from priests to show regular attendance. Some schools also require that children be members of particular parishes, which would make life even more difficult.

Interesting article here on Oratory, particularly in relation to the admission process until fairly recently - thetab.com/2016/04/04/really-like-go-londons-exclusive-catholic-school-82849