Non-religious primary school in Oxford (Jericho)

[AtheistMumOxford]

Hi all, I hope this is a good place to ask. I have a question to atheist parents in Oxford. We recently moved to Oxford (Jericho) and are not very familiar with the school system here. My kid will start primary school in September 2027. What I need to understand now is if there is a primary school within our "catchment area" which would be a good fit for our family, or if we need to consider moving to another area of Oxford. It has come to my attention that many primary schools are "Church of England" schools or other religious schools, and that "daily worships" are apparently a thing. I would be grateful if someone has input on these questions:

• Are there any non-religious primary schools (no church visits, no crosses in classrooms, secular interpretation of daily worships) which would fall into our "catchment area", so where we would have a chance to get in?
• I've read that we can name preferences for schools, but aren't guaranteed to get in. If we are assigned a Church of England school, can we appeal the decision, or could they really force us to that?

I should mention that we would be open to pay for a school if there are any non-religious private schools in our reach. To clarify: We do not oppose to our kid learning about various religions (their history, mythology and influence on the world), but we oppose to anything that portrays one religion as correct (prayers, church visits, crosses placed in classrooms, Christian mythology taught as a fact). We would like to find a school that fits these criteria.

Also, please do not try to convince me that a Church of England school would be fine, we are adamant that this is not an option for us. I'm not here for a debate, just to find answers to my questions above, thanks for respecting that.

I am ex Oxford. I believe Oxford uses a true catchment area system, I.e. you are in the catchment area of one school only. In Jericho this is most likely St Barnabas which as its name suggests is C of E. Other schools a bit further to the north in Summertown are St Aloysius (Catholic) and SS Philip and James (C of E). Other primaries are likely further away, and bear in mind the difficulties of going far in Oxford in morning traffic. So the simple answer is no, though I am not totally up to speed on whether any non denominational schools have opened more recently. Regarding further away schools, you might or might not get a place, depending on the distance and how popular the school is, but you will have lower priority than those in its catchment.

No you can't appeal on the basis of religion. Virtually all primary schools cater to children of all faiths and none, and any C of E school in particular will teach RE in the manner you outline you will be acceptable, not as doctrine. They may visit a church. They may equally well visit a mosque and a synagogue. There will certainly be no crosses in the classrooms. However, you have indicated this would be unacceptable to you regardless.

I am as atheist as they come and my DC do indeed attend a non-denominational school, but in many localities we would not have had a choice and I would have been happy for them to go to a C of E school, though not Catholic.

Yes, agree with PP.

OP, note that St Barnabas, whilst being a C of E school, doesn't have any criteria re faith or church attendance in its admissions policy. https://st-barnabas.oxon.sch.uk/school-info/key-information/admission-arrangements/

As a point of information, all primary schools in England are required to hold acts of collective worship which are Christian by default https://humanists.uk/campaigns/schools-and-education/collective-worship/

most CoE primary schools sit on the continuum of non-denominational schools in this regard (but not all). Catholic likely to be stronger. Private schools may be less denominational. Many, many schools will for example do a nativity play - done at all the schools my kids have attended regardless of faith status.

West Oxford Primary is secular and very good. Europa is completely secular.

I think most of the primary schools are religious actually, not sure about Dragon? Forest Farm?