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Original poster

Catholic School - has anyone got in 'as a Catholic' despite not going the set amount?

81 replies

ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 17/03/2010 17:10

I sent off my application months ago, and today got the Supplementary section to be signed by the Priest to confirm I have been to Church at least once a fornight in the past 12m - which I haven't (too long/irrelevant IMHO to post here). It then says if I do not do this my child will be catagory 10 (all other Children) DH is ringing the 2 schools now, but has anyone been in this situation before? Did you get classed as non-Catholic, or did you have to 'prove' your Catholic-ness ? Or did the school trust the word of an adult enough, that if they say they are Catholic then they are and are not part of some movement to take over Catholic schools

OP posts:
zanzibarmum · 18/03/2010 18:53

OP - what is the reason for
non weekly attendance for the past year. It is highly relevant not just for the priest but more importantly for the admissions panel. It is the latter that decides not the priest. What on earth could have prevented attendance?

coll2010 · 18/03/2010 19:10

I agree too ilovemydog and rocking bird. It was after my 1st child was baptised and we made our promise to raise her in the catholic faith that we got back into being weekly mass goers. We made lots of new friends and really enjoyed the experience. After my 2nd child came along I found it a real struggle and we only went maybe once every 2 months for his first year but as things got easier we began going weekly again. I don't believe anybody frowned upon us as to why we were not there every week. Some cynics may say we only returned to our faith to get in to a 'good' school but it was really not that. We were both brought up as catholics and felt we wanted our children to experience a similar childhood to our own. Now mine both love going to our children's mass and it is a social event for them to meet all their school friends.

zanzibarmum · 18/03/2010 19:27

OP - what is the reason for not attending weekly mass for the past year? It is highly relevant not just for the priest but for the school admissions panel. The latter makes the admissions decisions not the priest.

What on earth could have stopped you attending mass after all these years?

Original poster
ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 18/03/2010 19:33

It's definatly a 'good enough' reason just something I'd rather not go into.

OP posts:
zanzibarmum · 18/03/2010 19:47

OP - I have been on an admissions panel in two catholic primary schools and I have seen many good enough reasons - cancer, separations etc - but it doesn't help the admissions panels who have a duty to apply their criteria. The priest may well tell you what you want to hear but admissions panel are more hard nosed.I used the 'shopping test' to decide which good enough reason made sense.

There are some good enough reasons that do work with admissions panels - not sure if yours is one of them.

Original poster
ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 18/03/2010 19:50

What's the 'shopping test'?

OP posts:
BetsyBoop · 18/03/2010 21:21

if zanzibar means the same "shopping test" as the one I've heard of it's "would the same reason stop you going shopping?"

for example

If it's "I've not been to mass for 6 months as I've been in hospital the whole time" that passes as you won't have been shopping either

If it's "I've not been to mass for 6 months as I moved house" then that doesn't pass...

obviously I've picked extremes here to demonstrate the point

katycaterpiller · 18/03/2010 21:47

i do wish that religion was a thing you went to church for and education was a thing you went to school for. this country is so mixed up. now you go to church in order for your kids to get an education...

ShoshanaBlue · 18/03/2010 21:47

Yes!!! I passed the Zanzibar test!!!

Does this give me 3 years off Purgatory??

zanzibarmum · 18/03/2010 21:56

Being in hospital for six months - unless I suppose you were in a coma - shouldn't stop uou from receiving communion.

There is I think at least one legitimate reason hence why I think OP should set hers out - as it is so central to advising on her question.

zanzibarmum · 18/03/2010 22:15

Shopping at Ocado doesn't count

RockbirdisdrinkingGuinness · 18/03/2010 22:16

Katy it's not 'now', these schools have been around for donkey's years happily providing Catholic education to generations of children. Only now people have cottoned onto the fact that a lot of them are very decent schools they have come to the attention of the wider community who want in despite not being Catholic. When I was at Catholic schools in the eighties there was none of this. You were Catholic, you went to the school. Not Catholic and you didn't. Easy peasy.

Original poster
ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 18/03/2010 22:43

Oh right, definatly would pass the shopping test. However, it is all irrelevant as Dh talked to the Priest and he just signed the form He asked how we all were so maybe he remembers me and the boys from before Thanks for your help - I presume I won't have to see a panel etc. now?

OP posts:
zanzibarmum · 18/03/2010 23:02

Is there code in the priest's signed form that you may not be aware of. Does he support the application or stronhly support it.

As I say it is not his decision - difficult to say how admissions panel might decide. You don't see them, they see your forms!

Original poster
ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 18/03/2010 23:31

There is just one box for him to sign. I am catagory C (under looked after baptised children, and baptised children with a sibling in the school), there isn't a choice for him IYSWIM. I did think he would just write a little note and not sign the form but he signed it anyway, although I haven't been fornightly in the last 12m he obviously remembers me enough to just sign anyway.

OP posts:
Blu · 19/03/2010 00:01

ASLD - I am not a catholic, If I ran the country I would phase out faith as priority admission in any state-finded school..but I am pleased for you that your faith has won over burocracy. Good luck with getting a place in the school

RockbirdisdrinkingGuinness · 19/03/2010 03:54

So why did you feel the need to write that then Blu? The op didn't ask for opinions about the school. But just for the record, Catholics pay taxes as well and the schools are part funded by the church. So if you're not Catholic they needn't bother you.

ilovemydogandmrobama · 19/03/2010 08:52

Yeah!

coll2010 · 19/03/2010 09:36

I'm glad your priest signed the forms, school applications are very stressful! If you have a sibling already at the school then I'm sure you will have a very good chance now of getting your place and unlikely that you would need to see a panel. Hope all goes well.

Blu · 19/03/2010 09:38

Well, Rockbird, excuse me for saying what I like on an open board - I was saying to the OP, that despite my overall reservations about the SYSTEM I am PLEASED for HER. Which I am.

And it is slightly relevant as the OPs case demonstrates that the admissions system creates problems for catholic parents as well as the wider community.

As for your comments on the funding of faith schools - well the truth in that varies fom school to school (as to whether the church subsidises the cost), and whether it should bother me is for me to decide, not you.

Original poster
ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 19/03/2010 10:36

It's OK Blu To me though, faith isn't just a few hours in a Sunday morning, or even something that can be 'contained' to the home - faith really goes hand in hand with education for me. It being integrated with sex ed, science even (obviously we were told that the bible isn't always total fact, but more metaphorical), in R.E we (alongside learning about other faiths) learnt things that you would only learn in a Catholic school like how to say the Creed, how to do confession, obviously doing Holy Communion and Confirmation with all your friends, mass together as a whole school... It's not a part of my life, it is my life. THe way I see it is, apart from the church funding anyway and the links with the Church (i.e we will have collections in Church for something related to the school etc.), the majority of children going will have tax paying parents, same as any other school, so it's just using 'their' share IYSWIM. Let's say 20% of the UK are Catholic and want to use Catholic schools, so very basically 20% of the money they use for schools will be used to fund educating 20% of school children. That's very simplistic and prob. doesn't make sense

OP posts:
Blu · 19/03/2010 10:57

ASLD - it does make sense - I am not anti-catholic (or anti any religion), I have nothing against parents who choose to take advantage of the current choice faith schools present to them. I appreciate the role that faith schools played in making education widely available (the CoE endowed schools) and that Catholic schools were a necessary reaction to the discrimination and persecution shown to catholics - as well as providing education in a 'catholic' way as you describe.

It is just my personal view that in a very diverse secular democracy, the state education system should be wholly secular and that all state funded schools should give equal admission opportunity to children of all creed, colour etc.

And after all, it was a religious leader (I forget who) not an atheist like me, who said 'you can have Christian schools, or schools for Christians - but they can't be both'

Anyway, as i said, whatever the gvt system, I'm pleased that your problem is solved thus far.

zanzibarmum · 19/03/2010 14:46

So is the child "looked after" and baptised, and if you have a sibling in the school. If this is correct you should have no problem - I trust that the form you sent to the school matches this on the priest's reference form?

ilovemydogandmrobama · 19/03/2010 14:52

She says, 'under' looked after baptized children, and siblings, so assume she means 'underneath' which it is on the form?

Original poster
ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 19/03/2010 19:01

Sorry, yes, cat. 1 is baptised looked after, cat. 2 is baptised, sibling in school, I am cat. 3 - baptised, live in Parish

OP posts: