Would you start attending church to get your child into a C of E secondary?

[crymyeyesviolete]

If your other local options were dire?

No

Yeah x

Yes.

Yes. I’m not religious but if it’s the best school available then 100% I would play the system. My child deserves as good an education as a Christian child.

No.

Yes. The system is wrong, so no need to respect it. Do what's best for your child.

Of course. I’d do what’s best for my child. I didn’t create the system, I’m not responsible for it and have no control over it. All I can do is work with what’s available and make the best of what is.

Yes.

although suely you need to have gone at least sporadically from when they were born so they can get baptised....?

The baptism cert would be required for your secondary application (at least its is for RC)

No
I am a Christian anyway but I wouldn't change churches to get my dc into a certain school.

No, I’m not a hypocrite. Snobbery in education winds me up a treat. Faith schools tend to get better results because it creates a different demographic. It’s not necessarily better schools.

Yed

Would I do it personally? No. I like my Sunday mornings too much!

Do lots of people do it? Yeah, loads.

I wouldn't particularly judge one of my friends if they did, but I don't think any of them would - most of my non-religious friends wouldn't be comfortable with the level of religion on display in a church school.

No.

I wouldn't want to fake being a particular religion, if it wasn't actually my religion.

No, my dcs have a regular club on Sunday mornings and wouldn't want to give it up. And no one in my family is baptised including me and DH so I don't think we'd be very convincing. I'd rather go private or move.

Maybe, I wouldn't want to send them to a bad school. I don't know how long I could keep it up for, as Sunday is my main lie in day!

@crymyeyesviolete I think these schools that select by religion should not be tolerated. They actively discriminate against Hindus, Muslims etc who are never ever going to pretend to be CofE to get into a better school. As a non committed non religious parent, you can fake what you want, but others who are committed to another religion are consigned to the crap schools. It’s selection by the back door based on discriminatory grounds and by now it should be illegal.

We have one of these schools in an area I used to live in. It is rural and takes dc from far and many drive past several other schools to get there. Totally ludicrous but of course it’s the best school. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s full of pushy parents who fake religion!

Surely a school with a better demographic is a better school from the parent’s and child’s perspectives? It is literally one of if not the most important factor to consider when choosing a school.

I'd rather go private too, but it's not an option for us financially.

No baptism required, just 2 years of regular church attendance.

This. I didn’t. But I know a LOT of people
who suddenly found their faith when their eldest child was 9 and then suddenly lost it again when youngest child turned 11.

No. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing so.

In Birmingham there is a Jewish school where 2/3 of the pupils are Muslim.

I know that is unusual but it does happen. Lots of faith schools do have 'any other faith' as one of their criteria, usually quite low down.

Of course. How do you think 90% of the kids got their places at the CofE secondary school? It’s certainly not because their families are genuinely churching going.

Parents game the system all of the time. It’s no different to moving house to get into the catchment of a good school. In fact, it’s better because it’s free!

If the entrance criteria is 2 years of regular church attendance you are just following the rules, technically you shouldn't even have to lie. Aren't church services open to all?

We would never accept hospitals funded by everyone's taxes but which give priority to patients of a certain faith. Whether the land where the hospital is built belongs to a church doesn't change that.

But we accept it with schools.

Shameful to say the least.

No.