Do any of you go to church just to get your children into a good school?

[charliecat]

?

Some catholic schools reserve a certain proportion of their intake for children of other religions - our local secondary does this - so its not absolutely necessary to be catholic to attend a RC school. So I dont see why a child should feel out of it if not catholic. Dh went to a jesuit boarding school and didnt want our sons go to a catholic school on religious grounds but they would have gone if we felt it was the best educational option. He enjoyed it but got beaten a lot for being rebellious, smoking, drinking etc.

I have had long discussions with colleagues about this subject and I find they have very strong absolutist views about what everybody else should do ...until they have kids of their own.

I couldnt pretend to a priest I had rediscovered religion. Makes me feel creepy.

Yes.

no

I wouldn't go to church myself, but I toy with the idea of encouraging the dds to find themselves a religion at primary age as the only school round here which can select is the CofE secondary (and guess what, it creams off the middle class families and does better than the other local schools which aren't select).

I sort of feel if the churches want to encourage hypocracy with their school selection monopoly it's not so dishonest to join them and play their game. Churches could easily let go of their stranglehold on the education system if they didn't want people to do this.

yes, I have a very lax faith & only went to church on high days & holidays, which as a Catholic is a bit norty. However, as soon as I knew I'd have to get my kids into school I upped my church attendance, got all my forms signed & even became a helper at the RC equivalent of sunday school.
I'm probably very immoral, but I'll live with that. No doubt an awful thing to say, but I'd do pretty much anything to get my children into the best school possible.

Yes I do to be honest. Although both boys were baptised at the church and my mum is a personal friend of the Vicar. But the senior school near us is the best in the area and boys are only 6 and 2 but we are doing it for them to get into this particular school.
But I actually enjoy my church now, they have a good children's sunday school for ds1 and a great creche facility for ds2 and the service isn't long and drawn out.

It is easy to say 'I pay'. what if you haven't got this chioce and cannot afford to pay for private? I thought I wouldn't at first, but you know what? I think, like Bugsy2, that, if the choice is between a Catholic one or a crappy one - I'd do anything. It is sad and unfair but what can I do if this is the state of the education system?

I was raised as catholic, like everyone is where I come from, although no one in family really cared. I went to a catholic primary school which I enjoyed immensely (possibly because our teacher/nun was such a softy). I wasn't brainwashed and didn't make me religious one bit, in fact quite the opposite.