Catholic school/education or not?

[sea74]

I am a little confused about schools. I am italian and catholic. My eldst boy will be 3 in June and i am starting to think about schools.

Personally, i am not too bothered about catholic education: I didnt go to a catholic school and I am a good person.
Even so, i understand that here in UK many catholic schools are good, compared to the ordinary state schools.

In my area there is a catholic school that is excellent but we are just a little outside the catchment area and an ordinary state school that is ranked as good in Ofsted report.
I would probably be happy with both...But now i wonder: does having a catholic education in a CV in britain give any advantage?
If you had the possibility to "use" a catholic school would you send your kids there?

Please be honest on your answer.... ...I am seriously very confused.

do you attend church regularly? was your ds baptised at a young age? If the answer is yes you may have a chance of getting a place. If the answer is no it is unlikely just being a catholic will get you into an excellent school slightly out of catchment.

No, a catholic eductation does not give your CV any advantage.

Go with whichever school you like better.

I would go and visit both schools and then see how you feel. If your view is still the same after the visits, then I would go for the local school.

But I should declare that I am Catholic and chose to send DC to Catholic schools, and have to drive past the local "outstanding" primary to get to our "failing" school - but I wouldn't change because I know the school, the teachers and the whole education that DD receives and we are happy with it.

No advantage on a CV at all. Its a disadvantage if anything. Some people 'use' a middling Catholic primary to stand a better chance of getting a place at a good/outstanding Catholic secondary.

One of the advantages of Catholic schools in many areas is they are the most ethnically diverse, obviously this is more true out of towns.

My dcs go to an 'outstanding' Catholic school which is undersubscribed and has many non Catholics and non practicing Catholic pupils. In other areas children need to be baptised before age 1, they must attend weekly mass and they/their parents are expected to be doing other stuff within the parish such as reader/cleaning rota/lead a church group.

Is your child RC?

Thanks for your replies everyone.
Yes my sons are RC and baptised at 3 months old. The catholic school i am talking about wants only baptised catholic kids so it is not going to be as the one mentioned by historygirls.

My children go to Catholic primary school, ofsted "good". It is a nice school, but the non denominational ones locally are good too.

To get into an oversubscribed Catholic primary you need to have a reference from a priest. You are unlikely to get one if you do not attend mass frequently. Church schools often have wide catchment areas, so if your mass attendance is regular you will usually be a higher priority than someone who lives close but does not attend church.

As for will a catholic school look good on a CV? I have never met anyone who has put their primary school on a CV. A catholic primary school may get you into a good catholic secondary, but even that is not going to prop up a CV. Good exam results and other interests and experience are what make a CV good.

There is not really an "old school tie" with state schools. There are Catholic public schools which may be different. I do not think the public schools are that interested in your mass attendance though, more your bank balance.

no advantage on CV at all
what is your secondary school situation like?
my dds go to an excellent catholic primary, but we have no linked secondary school (no catholic secondary in our borough) so we are a bit doomed.
if i had chosen the good secular state primary they would have had a good chance at the good state secondary. i have lost that chance now.

Catholic schools have a wide catchment area, have you called the school?

My ds goes to over subscribed catholic primary which is super high on league tables and everyone wants to go there. As such he had to attend mass and get diary signed every week for a year to go with school application. Its a great school, but there are lots of great schools, have a look around and call the school, find out what their criteria is.