The Priory CofE - Wimbledon - Too religious?

[Iamdefinitelyworthit]

Hello everybody this is my first post. First of all can I just say I do not mean to offend anybody, this is just my opinion and only applies to me. So! My DC go to the priory cofe primary school in Wimbledon. We are not religious but reluctantly chose this school based on its proximity to where we live as our nearest non-faith school is Garfield which I am not keen on.

From other people's comments I was under the impression that the religious aspect wasn't too strong. However, since the new Head (who has come from Dundonald) started there, I am finding that the school is becoming quite 'militant' in its religious approach.

Assemblies are now called 'collective worship' and children are made to pray. Parents are regaled with a passage from the Bible in every newsletter (I find this wasteful and patronising but mostly boring and no, I don't have to read it). These are just two tiny examples; Religion has basically permeated on every single aspect of education, quite pointlessly in my opinion, and I no longer feel comfortable with my DC attending the school. I find the overall religious approach to be passive-aggressive despite the constant reminders that they believe in community, being inclusive, love to all and so on.

I know you might argue that it is a CofE school and I knew this when my DC started, all I'm saying is that I didn't mind before but I do now. So, bearing in mind I don't want my DC to attend my nearest non-faith school, what do you think my options are? I would be delighted with Dundonald or Pelham. If any of you out there are familiar with The Priory I would love to know your opinions on how things have changed since the new head started. Or am I going mad?? Cheers all.

Perhaps you should try working with the school - faith schools generally perform very well and in my experience as a headteacher the school will be doing the best for all its pupils you choose the school and now you want to change it - typical!!!!

Really sorry if this offends, but i've just stumbled across this unbelievable posting completely be accident and am pretty hacked off.
I totally agree with TheCalvert. We are a Christian family, and both my older children attended the nursery there, but neither were offered places in reception - despite being on the waiting list, and not receiving any explanation why we were turned down.
I was gutted, and have been forced to send them to a non-religious school, where so many of the children are learning English as a second language.
You seem to be completely ungrateful for your place. For what it's worth, I don't believe the school is strictly religion-orientated, since they seem to allow all faiths and obvious non-religious people in a bid to be "PC". The Priory is turning away children that would be an asset to their school and should be bloody ashamed of itself.

Twinsandbabymum...that's quite offensive. Let's segregate the EASL children from the rest of Wimbledon.

TABM,

Has the school applied its admissions criteria properly, according to the published over-subscription criteria?

If not, appeal.

If so, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. If there are others who are higher up in those oversubscription criteria than you are, they have complete entitlement to their place. Read the oversubscription criteria - they will not be allowing other faiths in to be 'PC', it will be because it is in those criteria, which by law have to be applied strictly and impartially.

You do yourself - and your Christian faith and values - no favours by your venom.

Wow, TABM, that is offensive.

Did you fulfil all the criteria for a Church place? If so, maybe you don't live close enough to get in. The school is obliged to offer a certain number of non-Church places, so this is why children of no/other faiths are also let in. Attending the nursery has no bearing on your chances of getting a Reception place and as far as I'm aware, the school doesn't have to tell you why you didn't get in. Presumably you can find out the furthest distance allocated and that will probably give you your answer.

What school did you get?

TABm - that is unfair of you. You were too optimistic in the first place and on another thread you were warned not to count you chickens by people with experience of applications in MErton. I don't mean to be harsh on you when you are disappointed but some basic research would have prepared you for the difficulties in WImbledon whatever your religion.

I stand corrected on the school not giving a reason for turning people down.

However, I thought that each Church school said in advance how many Foundation/non-Foundation places there would be and then had to stick to that? Obviously that could be zero but I don't think it's the case with the Priory. Certainly, 5-10 years ago, everyone jumped through hoops to get the Foundation places at Holy Trinity and Bishop Gilpin, which left most people who weren't church-goers with places at the Priory by default. That may well be different now.

Is it possible under such criteria that someone could apply for a Foundation place but not get it (perhaps not enough church attendance or whatever) but because they live very close to the school, they get in under open places instead? ie can your application be considered under both Foundation and Open, if you are applying for a Foundation place? Obviously it wouldn't work the other way round, unless there weren't enough applicants for Foundation places.

So you might have to weigh up your chances of whether living close to the school and having attended a different church would give you a better chance under the Foundation places or the Open places! And if you went for a Foundation place there's a chance you might not get in but someone living further away than you would get in under an Open place? What a horrendous decision to have to make!

I assume there is some sort of precedent somewhere so that people understand how "qualification" works, but presumably it is anecodatal rather than written policy. Otherwise, as you say, people could put the school last (or not at all) and get a place, over and above Foundation applicants who live closer.

Sooooo glad I've been through this already (totally different school) as it's a minefield.

TABM, as a Wimbledon mother whose mother tongue is not English, and who has two mixed race children, I find your post very offensive. Perhaps you should see this as an opportunity for your children to be exposed to diversity. I suspect they, and you, would benefit from this.

I know as well as anyone that the school situation in Wimbledon is awful, but you are barking up the wrong tree by complaining about the number of EASL pupils in your allocated school.

i am curretly in year 6 i do think that calling it collect worship is taking it a bit to far however you are not forced to pray but if you do not you have to stay silent to show respect.Through out the years i have spent at school some teachers where not my favroite but where good teachers.Finally we have the best teacher ever we even got to go to france!

going to the priory is a choice i dont regret making

My son gos to the Priory and hes having a fun time learning there and has got many friends,so i think your being a little bit insulting saying that it is too religious.