Catholic private schools in London verses local Catholic schools

[Elsie20]

Im currently looking at Catholic independent schools for my daughter (she is only 2 at the moment) and do not know whether to send her to a private school or a local Catholic school like my now grown up children went to.

Im not going to lie, religion is important to me and we are practising Roman Catholics, however when I look at the diocesan reports for the independent schools, they are good but very little baptised Catholic children, whereas local schools are outstanding reports and over 90% baptised Catholic children. Does this mean the Catholic ethos is not taught as well as locals schools, ie maybe due to lack of Catholic families in the schools?

My husband wants her to have a private education for all the reasons that I also see are valid, we financially can, smaller classes and better results etc but I also know the local schools can also be amazing. My older 3 are examples of that.

I have no idea or insight on private schools but loads on the local schools. I loved my other children schools, very nurturing and a sense of belonging. Prayers and mass on holy days of obligations. The parish priest being very involved as a governor. A very family like feel.

I suppose what I'm really asking, if anyone who has a child at private Catholic school and their experience there and schools you could recommend.

thank you in advance.

You can of course have nuturing and family feel, without being a religious school and I think you’re describing is a sense of community. My point is that this will be down to the individual ethos of each school and less so due to percentage catholic intake. In terms of how observant they are would be worth talking to each school, but suspect most follow catholic ethos like state catholic system.

Sorry I didn’t mean to derail your question and realise I didn’t answer your question. I’m also state catholic background but I meant to ask which area of London you’re interested in

We're north London, so probably St Antony's in Hampstead.

Yes, I know what you mean, and I'm a little ignorant to non religious schools. I just have no knowledge. I also went to state Catholic school. It's all I know 😬

I understand my husband point on wanting this and it's fine, but I want it to be like my experience and my other children's experience if that makes sense :)

I only have experience of state Catholic. They do vary but, if you find one that has a high majority of Catholic children, and is well run, then the development of your child’s faith will be central to the ethos of the school. There should be a strong connection with the local church, with the children going to Mass regularly and the priest visiting. There may also be sacramental development, and RE is taught as a core subject. Other faiths are also taught as part of the RE curriculum. RSE will also be taught in-line with Catholic beliefs.

In terms of an independent Catholic school, you’d want to see if they can offer the same. Do they have a link with the church and parish and how is Catholicism lived out in the school day to day?

Catholic schools have a Section 48 inspection, as well as OFSTED, which inspects RE and the Catholic life of the school. Worth reading those.

Hi op, funny you mentioned that school as we looked at it for my ds. Whilst they are Catholic, a huge (majority) of the children are not so it's very much opt in if you would like. We're in Hampstead and schools are extremely diverse. It is a very nurturing school but this is the boys one I'm referring to.

Thanks yellowmellow2 :)
yes I've been looking at the diocesans reports (section 48 inspections) and most independent schools are good whilst a lot of state schools are outstanding. They also give the amount of baptised Catholics in the school and the independent ones are roughly around 25% whilst state are around 90% so maybe that's the reason.
holy cross school in Kingston looks very good but realistic the journey would be too far.

fourfour, in fairness the boys school seems to be more actively involved with the church than the girls and also more Catholic boys.
I'm also going to look into st. Mary's too :)

If your child is only 2, it’s a bit early to consider Holy Cross which is a secondary I think? A lot can change over the years. I would be less worried about OFSTED grading when thinking about Catholicity, and focus more on Section 48. As I said, in my experience, the state Catholic schools are much more likely to be more rooted in the faith than independent ones, as they have to meet certain thresholds (section 48), and have more Catholic children and families. They’re also more likely to be part of the parish church.

Thanks again yellowmellow2, I was meaning holy cross prep in Kingston. You're right, I think states schools are more rooted, well from what I'm seeing anyway albeit this is online research only.

i definitely need to go visit these schools and get that real feel, however since researching online, I really like the sound of St Mary's in Hampstead. A lot more catholics, close links to the church and an outstanding diocesan report. They also prioritise Roman Catholics.

thank you again :)

OP, my kids are currently at a Catholic indie school, outstanding. Please feel free to PM me. No experience of state though so can’t compare.