Don’t take the faith out of church schools
nick cowen, 18 April 2012
By David Conway
On Monday in the House of Commons, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said that he was keen to work with John Pritchard, the Bishop of Oxford, on extending the role of the Church of England in schools. His words have been taken to mean that the Government will support the creation of a new generation of state-funded Anglican academies.
- Read the rest at the Daily Telegraph
- Read David Conway’s report, Faith Schools: Enrichment or Division?, here.
Some criticisms:
1. “Charity begins at home, after all”.
The problem is that this is not charity, it is state funding; why should the state provide better facilities for the rich than the poor? Also, why does charity begin at home? This is certainly not a Christian concept at all – Jesus was concerned with the disadvantaged within society. You however are happy to see them segregated away, and see yourself as having a greater duty to those already advantaged.
2. The statistics showing Church schools take a higher proportion of middle class kids are not dodgy – they are well established! If nothing else middle class parents who are not religious play the system, go to Church, and get their kids in. Again, no-one seriously doubts that this happens.
3. Your attitude towards the poor is wholly unChristian. The pupil premium is a great policy, but money alone is not sufficient. Kids from disadvantaged backgrounds need to share a class room with kids who are ambitious, and whose parents will push the teachers and school to provide a good education, benefitting all.Mocking the idea that the poor should benefit from this, and be subject to some form of apartheid, is disgusting. To justify this on the basis of Christianity is heresy.
You say, “church schools will only continue to achieve good academic results, and hence remain popular, so long as they preserve enough of their religious character. It’s what drives their success. ”
Would you please explain what this uiquely “religious character” is and how it drives their success?
cg