To think its unfair that my DD will probably not get into the state school I can see from my window

[dilemma456]

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No, it is not unfair. It is perfectly reasonable for the state to support different sorts of schools for the population's different needs.

Do not forget that the religious establishments were a great force in creating schools in this country. Historically, religion and education have gone hand in hand.

why would you want her to go to a catholic school if not catholic?

Faith schools should be abolished imo (and so should grammars but thats another story)

I will await flaming.....

of course church schools are unfair
this has been done to death here

get rid of the lot of them I say
It's 2008 now

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My DSs will not get into the very good state secondary school that we can see from our window. Because it's a girls' school. 'Tis a bit galling but what can one do?

Then you should have worked towards meeting the criteria for the good school well in advance .

Yes, I should have left them all out on a hillside to die and had some daughters instead. Darn my lack of forward planning.

The state does not support my need of a secularist school though, does it Anna?

That post wasn't for you SSB .

But I do get rather fed up about all the whinging on MN about how "unfair" it is that some children get to go to better schools that others. As if luck had much to do with it.

I was joking . Perhaps that wasn't obvious .

But yes, I'm quite sure that most of the posters on mn who can afford private schooling do get fed up with us plebs and our whinging.

Since there is no separation between Church and State in England, it seems to me quite normal that religion should be part and parcel of school life . When the Church and State separate (which they will do, eventually) things will be different.

I live in a country with secular schools and religious ones. It is not ideal.

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There are parts of England where there is masses of choice of school, state and private. Go and live there .

It's unfair that a child cannot go to a certain school when that child's parents are paying towards it via taxes. Churches etc may well have done their bit in getting children educated but it's time to move on into the modern world.

is the sink school really that bad

"the state should be able to offer me a decent non-denomonational school"

It does. For quite obvious logistical reasons, it might not be on your doorstep.

Loads and loads of people move house to be near good schools. It is unrealistic to expect the school to move next to your house .

Why is it not ideal, Anna?

Because children in secular schools have no proper moral education and grow up not knowing how to live harmoniously with others; and children in religious schools grow up bigoted and retrograde.

Between the devil and the deep blue sea then...

"The state does not support my need of a secularist school though, does it Anna?"

Quite.

I'd love for there to be humanist schools. The children of parents who'd admitted to attending church or having faith of any sort would go straight to the bottom of the list of applicants.

The issue of faith schools infuriates me. There are 30 schools in my borough. All of the top ten are either church or private schools. I wouldn't object so much if my taxes weren't paying for the lion's share of the upkeep of these schools.

"As if luck had much to do with it"

Oh I don't know. It's bad luck for my daughter that she's been born into a non-religious family, because it means that she's likely to go to a big, rough comprehensive instead of a school where there are no signficant behaviour management problems.

Anna, are you just stirring, or do you really believe what you have posted?

When you say D456 should have worked towards meeting the criteria, do you mean getting child baptised and attending church just to gain entry to a half decent school even if you have no belief in that religion. I know plenty do, but that doent make it ok. Where are the humanist schools? - we pay taxes too.

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They move house to be near schools after paying a premium for the privilege - running in to the £000's ...

faith schools have to let in a proportion of non believers. so you may be lucky.