Catholic Schools -an observation on the Holiness of it all

[MargaretMountford]

This week I returned to my Roman Catholic primary school with 3 friends after 39 years - it was wonderful and nostalgic and nothing much seemed to have changed, but I was struck by how Holy it all was. As a child we loved it,the Masses,the Benediction and the stations of the cross every lunchtime during Lent (how we clamoured to be picked to read a station) On our return I really noticed the statues,little shrines and holy pictures everywhere and looking at the walls at the work how it was tied in with the Catholic faith in so many aspects- I'd quite forgotten,being now very lapsed. Not making any point here really, it was just quite comforting and different.

i used to love the May alter and am a little sad there is no catholic school dd can go to when she starts school near here

is your name Thorn Birds influenced ?!

but of course

!

Catholic schools are partly funded by the church. Therefore, they have to devote a significant proportion of the curriculum to faith activities(10-20%?). They also have to follow the national curriculum in full, so their teachers need to use all their resourcefulness to cram both into the school day. eg. lots of art and literacy lessons may have a religious bias. This keeps both the Ofsted and church inspectors happy. I do not know how the teachers manage it.

I am the opposite, I went through the Catholic school system and it wasn't that rligious tbh, DS1's Catholic primary is waaay more religious than mine was.
He has to have rosary beads and use them every day (got some lovely colourful wooden ones) which I never did.
I do like it though.

interestingly,when we met up,all 4 of us had given up things for Lent - obviously the Catholic education still resonates (I think only one of us actively goes to Mass)

i went to a catholic school in another european country, and that scarred me so much i didn't set foot in a church for another 15 years. now i have come back to the fold, so to speak, albeit with some reservations, and i am also considering catholic education for my dcs, mainly because it's the only way to get them into a decent non fee paying school. but i am still not convinced about the moral aspect of it, i am afraid in particular that they get exposed to all the "political" side of the church that i despise so much...

There is really only one reason to apply to a Catholic school - that is to help in the Catholic formation of your children. Help is the key word because if the child is not being brought up as a Catholic by their parents it won't work. If you have doubts as you seem to suggest why not apply elsewhere. Again, educationally children will typically do as well or as poorly as home circumstances allow/permit/encourage.