I'm not sure whether to be bothered or not that my CD will be the only non-white children in their school

[bran]

We are moving to Dublin and have got DS into the school that I want him to go to, DD will also go there when she's older. It's a lovely school, I was very impressed with the headmistress. The whole school seems warm and lively and I think DS will really enjoy himself there. I know people who's DC are/were there and they are happy with it. But the school is entirely white, not all Irish but all white, and my DC are mixed-race.

My instinct says that it's only really an issue if I make it an issue. When I was at primary school (a very long time ago) there were only a few non-Irish pupils but nobody made a big deal about it and they weren't picked on or treated differently in any way.

Am I right to it's not worth worrying about now, wait and see how DS finds it before I worry?

I wouldn't worry personally. My DS has never mentioned the colour of any child's skin. He has become aware of different languages because some children in his class use words from other languages.

Does the school mix the form groups every year?

If it does, beware of other parents abusing the policy to fix it so that their kids remain with their best friends. They do this by requesting form allocation for reasons other than keeping friends together.

If you find your kid is being split up from his best friends every year and other kids are allowed to go up through the school with their best friends, they might be trying to push you out.

It is important that the school has a strong Head that ensures everyone is treated fairly. Don't choose a school where the tail wags the dog.

I don't think it's going to be an issue, but I'll bear that in mind RSC.

I have two DDs' and their school has mainly middle eastern kids,so my kids are in the minority with only a couple other black kids and a barely there number of white kids. I've found that i would prefer for them to be in a more racially mixed school coz now they have a tendency to speak Arabic which is common in the playground and my eldest has been wondering why she dosent wear a veil and has been asking for it which has led to a lot of explaining on my part. I'm not particularly comfortable with the situation and am looking to transfer them soon as. It would just be nice to have them in a school that's a little more diverse. My case could be a bit extreme, the people are not bad but it's more personal preference on my part. I would say don't knock it till you've tried it, it might not turn out so bad.