Catholic Schools are recognised nationally as providing a first class academic and pastoral education. This is both a cause for celebration and also a fundamental problem. The Church would like to provide a place for every baptised Child in a Catholic School or College from aged 5 to aged 18, but unfortunately the demand for places is high and so selection (according to objective criteria dictated by the DfES) is necessary.

Understanding the selection criteria used by schools is important to ensure that children receive the education they deserve and parents are not disappointed by the selection process. Parents can improve their ranking in the school admission process by a few simple steps.
  1. Primary criteria is “practising Catholic”. This means attends the Church for Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. Priests are asked to give a reference as to whether this practice is weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, feast days, occasionally. It is therefore necessary to establish a pattern of practice.
  2. Criteria applies to both Child and Parent. Most schools ask for a reference for both the child and the parent of the child. This can sometimes cause problems where a child attends the Church on their own, or with friends or other relatives. Schools recognise that committed parents are important for a truly Catholic Education and assign places accordingly. If your work or another genuine reason makes your attendance sporadic, make sure you have discussed this with your Parish Priest, so that it does not prejudice any school reference.
  3. If you attend more than one parish on a regular basis, make sure you are known in both places, so that two references can be provided that add up to better attendance than may seem apparent to any one priest.
  4. References are based on the personal knowledge of the priest. Please do not ask the priest to give a reference based on information you provide to him. Often parents make excuses to try and justify why the priest does not know them. It is the obligation of Parents to ensure that they are known! Priests should only use information that is personally known to them or objective (such as from parish records) when writing references.
  5. Register with your Parish. Although you can attend any parish and any mass to fulfil your ordinary Sunday obligation, when it comes to School Admissions this can create a problem in providing objective evidence as to your pattern of practice. Schools and Priests are also aware that the Catholic practice of some families increases shortly before School Applications are needed, only to disappear once a place has been secured.
It is the policy of this Parish to give a truly accurate reference based on Catholic practice averaged out over the last calendar year. Registering with the parish as soon as you move here, filling in an annual Parish Census form, and making sure you are known, all helps to provide objective evidence of Catholic Practice.

For further information see: