The Great School Intake Swindle

OK. Here's a post that has lots of potential for controversy. Religion, children you name it.

Up & down the country today is the day thousands will find out whether their little darling has been accepted in to their chosen primary school. I am amongst those parents this year.

However there is one massive loophole or shortcut to getting in to some of the best schools in the country, it is called 'going to church'.

The admission process in this country for most state schools works based largely on proximity to the school except for church schools whose main criteria is church attendance. I have been gobsmacked over the last few years to hear the number of parents discussing whether or not they should start going to church just to con, sorry pray, their way into convincing the local church school that they are 'devotees' so they can get in to one of the better local schools. On my relatively small sample of schools I have looked in to, those schools affiliated to one denomination or another generally seem to have higher Ofsted scores but this may not be universal.

The number of times I have heard the words "we don't really believe in it but we want to get in to XXX school" is just farcical

So maybe the church should be outraged as the infidels infiltrate the congregation? Well no. This is because what this actually means is packed churches full of devout 2 & 3 year olds with holier than though parents in tow.

I don't have issue with the intake system per se. Amongst the hoodwinkers there are many true believers who have been churchgoers all their lives who absolutely should have the right to go to the school associated with their church.

Its just that whilst everybody (church, government, local authority etc) pretends we have this 'fair' system for admissions, the whole thing actually is just one big con.