Atheist in Roman Catholic Primary - experiences sought, please.

[ScaredHeart]

We have relocated and been advised that our two options going in at this stage to Year 3 are the Roman Catholic school, which is a very quick walk from home, or the no-religion school which is over an hour's walk away (traffic dire at peak times, I don't want to drive anyway). We could home ed in the hope that a closer non-religious school comes up for September - the LA says there is often movement at this stage in this borough.
DD is happy to see out this term home edded, as am I, but equally, ok to start if a preferred place is offered.

I am vehemently atheist. I cannot stand the religious imposition in schools. But the prospect of a short walk every day, Vs a very very long one, are giving me pause. I'd like for DD to make local friends, not ones who live over an hour's walk away, or further.

I wonder how seriously pushy most Catholic primaries are in this regard. Atheist patents with any experience or views? We will not go to church. I don't want DD being told god is real. (Unless during now and then, proof materialises.)

Other considerations.
RC school is one-form entry.
Non-religious one with current space is SIX-form entry.
Non-religious one with no space but may have space in September is four-form.
Would you pick the tiny RC school or the much bigger ones, if you had the choice?

I guess that's the price you pay for the luxury of living out in the sticks. When living in a London suburb, one would expect several closer schools.

Now teen went to a Catholic primary. We are seriously lapsed Catholics. There were a few kids who were from atheist families or non-practicing non-Catholic families.
They weren't singled out or anything. They were embraced tbh.
None of the teaching was weird to me because it was the blah blah blah from my own childhood. But it might be weird if you've never experienced it.

@Elsie20 Fair enough. It's impossible to discuss with someone who is prepared to put their own wishes before anyone else's.

What exactly do you not find fine. What actually is the problem by just respecting others wishes and their beliefs, just as I respect yours.
there will always be Church of England schools, Catholic schools, Hindu schools, Jewish schools and Muslim schools. I can't speak for the others but Catholic schools and jewish schools do own their buildings and land. Taxpayers? Believe it or not, parents of these schools are also tax payers. There is loads of things I do not agree with and would be happier where my money went but hey that's life .
anyway, if we close all those school what do they become? will they become the schools you desire, probably not because the government does not own them.
as the schools become less subscribed by the faith, it will include others in their admission, if they didn't let them in, then I would be totally on your side with discrimination and think that is wrong but definitely Catholic do not do this if there is space. If people like yourself do find disgust in them then don't send your children. You do have that choice. I respect 100% your beliefs and your choices but respect mine and my choice.

Andshe does. It's because she is an in year application. The likelihood she will get a place at a nearer school by September is very likely as movement is high in London. If this was a reception place it would be an entirely different story.

I was born and raised catholic. RC primary and secondary school. I am a lesbian and atheist.

My primary school was 0.5 form entry, only had 4 classes and we were all very close and I had some brilliant teachers.

However, going to a catholic school (ironically) is probably the reason I'm an atheist. I'm from northern England and Catholicism aside both schools were working class, oftsed inadequate / satisfactory and I received an excellent diverse education and exposure.

RE was compulsory at GCSE and we did have in school masses etc but aside from a few real hard core Catholics in each year who were probably laughed at for it id say most people weren't in to it. I even went to Lourdes.

As a nurse nowadays I am grateful for my knowledge of Catholicism, it brings comfort to my patients. I also find it useful in arguments.

Go to the school which would provide the best for your child, don't underestimate the value of a close school. My Catholic education made me pro abortion, LGBT+ aware and anti racist from a young age and I made some of my best friends for life.

What I am trying say, @SnackSizeRaisin, is that like any text, stories in the Bible need to be seen in context. You cannot take them in isolation.

let me explain. You cannot, for instance see the God of the Old Testament asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (he didn’t let him go through with it, or course) without the context of Jesus’ (the son of God) death.

Is some of it horrific? Yes. But if you look at the history of religious texts, in fact of really canonical literary or religious texts, there are horrific bits. Greek mythology, Norse mythology, Stories surrounding Hindu deities - lots of horrific stuff. The Brothers Grimm fairytales have nothing to do with the Disney versions.

These stories, like the Bible, deal with the very big questions that humans have been thinking about since they were humans. This is the reason why these stories have survived and have infiltrated our culture.

I don’t think it makes sense to keep the big questions and the stories that tell them from our children. Of course - they have to be helped to make sense of them and this is why many churches will do children’s services where the children go out for part of the mass. stories are also told and presented to children in an age appropriate way or order. And equally, at my kids’ RC school only the older years really deal with the passion story, for instance.

Pretending that RC schools (or RCs in general - though you will always have some fanatics, like everywhere else) don’t have a common sense approach to the Bible is so surprising that it gives the impression that you have a bias against Catholicism. Which is your right, of course. But it gives your view less credibility.

I'm not putting my wishes before anyone. I've have the upmost respect for OP and I'm glad she is more contented now since visiting the school and if she chose to move her of another school, I would be happy that she is happy. That is the main thing here.

The discussion of the journey that the OP would have to do to the non-faith school has got a bit hysterical. I know both schools as my child goes to the Catholic one and I live close to the other, so I do about 4/5ths of the journey the OP would do, except in reverse. My husband and son walk home from school - it takes 35 mins. I do the morning school run by car and it takes 15 mins, or on the rare occasions we get the bus, it takes 25 mins.

@HerculesMulligan Two points. If it wasn't for the ridiculousness of faith schools, the journey would be negligible. And the timings you give are all one way. Unless you spend the day hanging around the school, they will all be doubled.

That's quite whataboutery and I'm not sure why the thread has become so bad-tempered. If the OP were making a Reception application she'd probably be in a school even closer to home and the Catholic issue wouldn't arise, but that wasn't right for her and her family at that point - we're all just dealing with the world as it is and making the best decisions we can for our children.

if it wasn't for the ridiculousness of that Catholic school, there would be no school and her option would be the further school. what do you think the building and land would be used for? Do you think the church would make it the school you want?

I think some people on this thread think that Catholic schools belong to the state. They don’t, the land and school belong to the Catholic Church.
If the Catholic Church didn’t exist then the school wouldn’t either.
it’s entirely reasonable that a school built by and maintained on land belonging to the Catholic Church decides its own ethos ( they do of course follow the national ciriculum)

Faith schools are funded from tax payers money, like all state schools. The difference is that the premises are owned by the Church, and they have to pay a contribution to Capital costs. Not sure of the exact figure-but about 10%. So they are almost entirely funded by the tax payer. Most of whom cannot access them.

from the diocese

Who funds Catholic schools? The school buildings and land of Catholic schools are owned by the Catholic Church. The Church provides these premises, at no charge, to enable the state to fulfil its obligation to provide education for the population. The day to day running costs of Catholic schools are funded by the state in the same way that all schools are funded (either through local authority or DfE funding agreements). The Church covers 10% of the capital costs for the maintenance of the premises in all voluntary aided schools.
Through this arrangement the Catholic Church saves the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds a year.

remember non Catholic children do attend too and the local authorities have a reason why they do this.

Exactly and like you say without the church, there is no school anyway.
i think people also think parents at these schools are not taxpayers.
I also wish we had control over where taxpayers monies goes but alas none of us do and that will never change.

Hi OP- has your little girl started at the school now? How are you finding it?