Funkmasterp – our view entirely. We’ve been for a look and I was actually impressed – no obvious graffiti like there is at my son’s school next door, that kind of thing, so I was just after general experience while I track down some parents at this specific school.

If she and we agree this is the better school we’d apply for it unless the religious aspect overshadowed the academic side.

I’m a stubborn arse and wouldn’t send my kids to any school that required them to be baptised, christened etc. regardless of its rating. I’d just see it as hypocritical and wrong.

Could be wrong, but I don’t think they are allowed to require faith for attendance, only prioiritise by it. If I was an atheist, I’d be cheating out of spite 😉

MCTD, my daughter goes to a Catholic Primary. Mum is catholic, I’m not a fan. She is only 6 so it’s tough to determine if it’s Mum or the school influencing her, but she’s a bit too much for me. However, she’s interested in science, so when she asked me if God was going to flood the world again, I can provide an alternative answer and gradually she will choose for herself what she believes. The school is wonderful so I can live with that.

Having put 2 through a Catholic school I wouldn’t recommend it. The pastoral care wasn’t there when we really needed it. Threatening the vulnerable with expulsion after a suicide attempt is not Christian. Not worth the steam off my warm urine.

@RichPenny: I don’t think you have to worry about your little one being taught that the flood was literal in a Catholic school any more than she will be taught to engage with poetry.

@Sandwich: do you mind me asking where this school was? Any school may have a ‘fitness to study’ policy, based on the fact that a young person’s illness may be too much for an institution to handle, but that would NOT normally be based on a single suocide attempt. The pastoral system should be in place to help – especially in a Catholic school.

My wife went to an TV school sixth form and she’s CofE. It was he best school in the area and was fine. But RE was compulsory and she got into trouble a few times arguing in he RE class about issues such as condoms and abortions. But other than that it was pretty normal.

Daughter goes to a high performing RC girls school (Wife and sprigs all baptised Catholic.) and actually it seems fairly low key. Certainly she doesn’t mention it. They draw pupils from all over Birmingham and so do not select just middle class children.

Went to see a coeducational RC local school for my sons the other day. We were in an RE classroom when he was asked if he liked RE. He said “No, I don’t believe in God”. They laughed and said that was ok – and actually seemed sincere about that.

So, it doesn’t trouble me at all.

A colleague’s daughters both went to the local RC high school. Colleague and wife are atheists, kids not baptised etc. He said they were slightly apprehensive about the religious teachings element, but in the end a) if the kids ended up being religious then so what? and b) they had confidence in themselves as parents that they’d raised the girls to be appropriately skeptical/inquiring that they’d be able to make their own minds up and not be brainwashed (not that they thought any brainwashing was going to occur, but neither of them had had a Catholic education and so had no experience of the practicalities).

Both girls now at uni, neither has any interest in religion.

Any school may have a ‘fitness to study’ policy, based on the fact that a young person’s illness may be too much for an institution to handle

Not when it contravenes DDA (and mental illness is covered by DDA). My child had a medically advised requirement for a timeout from studying while counselling and further treatment were undertaken. We were told this would not be allowed. No double all was forgiven at Friday confession but I will not forgive nor forget.

Both my boys are at a Catholic Primary – despite neither of us being religious (me very much anti-religious) and not having brought them up with any leanings towards any form of Christianity.

They are both doing well – great school… they talk about Jesus a bit, but don’t seem overly fussed beyond that. It has given them an interesting interpretation of death which has been really useful over the past few years and made some of the difficult situations a lot easier to deal with as a result.

Here they aren’t over subscribed – and I think a lot of parents shy away because it is Catholic (CofE is much more familiar I guess), which made it easier to get them in. The school has a fantastic record which is why we sent them!

I don’t think you have to worry about your little one being taught that the flood was literal in a Catholic school any more than she will be taught to engage with poetry.

Dude, she asked me the **** question! She’s 6, I don’t think she’s engaging with the biblical flood as analogy.

Having put 2 through a Catholic school I wouldn’t recommend it. The pastoral care wasn’t there when we really needed it. Threatening the vulnerable with expulsion after a suicide attempt is not Christian. Not worth the steam off my warm urine.

I have to say sandwich, that is properly shit. It’s inhumane at the very least. Arseholes.

My daughter just started year 7 at an all girls Catholic school. I’m a to the bone atheist. It wasn’t our first choice school but it was a lot better that what we could have got allocated. I’ve just told her to cross her fingers behind her back in assembly and RE lessons etc.

I’m more concerned with the quality of the education and behaviour of the pupils. She knows God is a load of bollox so I’m.not worried about her being indoctrinated.

My wife is of Cypriot heritage and against all my protests she got our eldest christened when we were in Cyprus 8 years ago. It turns out that’s what got us a place as it was over subscribed. So effectively my daughter is Greek Orthodox. Which apparently is one of their special categories on the application list. Plus there can’t be many other Greek Orthodox kids in Liverpool…

I’ve just told her to cross her fingers behind her back in assembly and RE lessons etc.

I went to Catholic school in Liverpool. I honestly don’t get what the fuss is about. Sure, we had RE classes, they were mostly garbage i ignored, but so were most of the other lessons. I didn’t have any of the weird stuff some of you seem to have had though.

Cougar – Moderator
12 pages, and I have to ban Woppit.

Not religious but both my girls go to the local Church of England Faith school, also 50% allocated to church goers and then the rest by the usual factors. We only got in by appeal first time due to oversubscription, and had to wrestle (briefly) with becoming church goers to jump the queue. Instead my appeal actually included that i thought it was more ‘christian’ to tell the truth and that people who lied about their church status to get in were bearing false witness and therefore couldn’t be proper christians. My wife talked me out of that bit….. I went for the honesty is a virtue line.

Anyway – now in religion is clearly part of the school life but no-one is forced to participate, including kids from other faiths who can choose to sit out of prayers and hymns if desired (but rarely do according to my daughters, which is actually a nice thought about tolerance)

As to teaching – RE has become one of her favourite subjects too. She likes a good argument does my girl and she gets a good one with her teacher, arguing about truth vs allegory and what does it really mean and why it’s important, so it has become RE-cum-philosophy rather than ‘The Bible as Fact’

Go for it would be my advice and let your daughter find her own path. If she decides she wants a faith as a result, let her.

I’ve just told her to cross her fingers behind her back in assembly and RE lessons etc.

Cancel out one irrational belief with another then?

That’s good teaching. Not confusing at all.

She knows God is a load of bollox so I’m.not worried about her being indoctrinated.

Even more irony.

Even more irony.

indeed.