
American mum in UK can't believe three things about British schools
The UK is often described as having a good education system, often ranking among the top countries in the world for education across numerous different categories.
Every country has its different rules and customs when it come to school, and the UK is no exception - meaning our education system can be confusing to people who went to school elsewhere. One of these people is mum Molly, who recently moved over to Birmingham from the US with her family and is now sharing the culture shocks she's noticed since arriving - such as having to navigate the education system for her son.
Taking to TikTok, Molly went on to share the biggest surprises that have caught her off guard since she moved across the pond.
"So, I'm navigating the British school system for the very first time and here's three things that I just find wild as an American," she said at the start of her video. She then went on to share her list.
Religious state schools
The first thing on her list was that state schools in the UK can be religious. To this, she clarified through her shock: "What? A school that is designated for the public, not a private school, can give priority to students based on religion.
"Now, I understand the history of it, that like the idea that the public could have an education, you know, hundreds and hundreds of years ago," she said.
"But the idea that if you want to go to school in your neighbourhood, [...] but you can't get in because kids from further away will have priority because they belong to the faith of the school.
"Blows my American mind," she said. "Public schools in America, you just can't discriminate on the basis of religion. Fascinating."
School uniforms
"Second for me is uniforms," she said. "I know that statistics are like overwhelming, like 95% or something of schools in the UK wear school uniforms and it's so embedded in the culture to wear school uniform.
"I didn't growing up, you know it's way less normalised in the US," she continued, giving 'smart shoes' as an example of the 'formal nature' of going to school in the UK and adding that it's all very new to her.
Walking to school
"And lastly, this is something I'm really excited about, is the number of children in the UK that can walk to school is just like so much higher than in the US," she said.
She went on to say that there are multiple reasons why her child and most kids in general in the US were unable to walk to their schools. This included issues with infrastructure and the ways neighbourhoods and roads are laid out, making it more difficult - especially for younger kids - to walk to their schools and back home.
"The idea that you can walk to school is just like so exciting to me. I'm really thrilled about it for my kid," she said.
Several Brits soon took to the comment section to share their thoughts and experiences about the school system, with one viewer sharing: "I was always told that one of the reasons we had to wear uniforms was to stop discrimination against people who are poorer based on their clothes."
Another person said: "Most of the country went to a CofE school and we're still on the road to atheist! They're not religious schools in the standard sense that people might think. Singing some hymns is basically it."
"I work in Catholic school in Bham. Our demographic more non-Catholic than Catholic. it's really not what you think," a third person wrote.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Powys County Times
9 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified
The mother of a British Air India crash victim has said her family is 'heartbroken' after receiving news the remains of her son were wrongly identified, The Sunday Times reported. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12, killing 241 people on board. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Among the British victims were Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, 39, and his husband Jamie, 45, who had been returning to Britain after celebrating their wedding anniversary in India. Mr Greenlaw-Meek's mother, Amanda Donaghey, told The Sunday Times she flew to India after the crash in order to find her son's remains, providing a DNA sample at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital to assist the identification process. Following a match on June 20 last year, she returned to the UK with Mr Greenlaw-Meek's coffin. But on July 5, as Mr Greenlaw-Meek and his husband's families prepared to bury the married couple together, police told Ms Donaghey that DNA tests carried out in the UK showed Mr Greenlaw-Meek's remains were not in the coffin. 'We don't know what poor person is in that casket,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I had my doubts but to be told that was heartbreaking. 'This is an appalling thing to have happened,' she added. 'And we would now like the British Gvernment to do everything in its power to find out, and bring Fiongal home.' It was revealed last week the coffin of another repatriated British victim, 71-year-old Shobhana Patel, contained remains of multiple people, The Sunday Times reported. Mrs Patel was killed alongside her husband Ashok, 74, as they returned to the UK from a Hindu religious trip. Their son Miten Patel told The Sunday Times: 'There may have been a mistake done. 'But for religious reasons we need to make sure my mother is my mother and not somebody else's remains. 'Knowing 100% that it is my mum is very important to us.' Shobhana and Ashok Patel were laid to rest last week, The Sunday Times said. International aviation lawyer James Healey-Pratt, whose firm Keystone Law is representing families of victims of the Air India crash, has told Times Radio the identification issues have raised concerns over the total number of victims whose identities may have been misattributed. 'We know that 12 caskets were repatriated from India to the UK,' he said. 'Of those 12, two had been mishandled, misidentified. 'And so if you extrapolate that sample, you're looking at 40 mishandled remains out of 240. 'So that's a very large number, but we simply don't know. 'And to date, the Indian authorities have not been transparent or helpful about that, which is why there was pressure put on by the families to the FCO and the Prime Minister's office. 'And this was actually mentioned in the meeting at Chequers between Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Modi on Thursday. 'So the families are waiting to hear, first thing next week, about what actions are really being done in India to provide some degree of assurance.' It is understood no blame is being put on any UK agency for the blunders, Mr Healy-Pratt previously told the PA news agency. The only surviving passenger on the plane was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who previously told The Sun it was a 'miracle' he was alive but felt 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay. A preliminary report into the incident from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the 'cut-off' position 'immediately' after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine.


Daily Record
11 hours ago
- Daily Record
Parenting expert explains why you should never try and 'end' your child's tantrum
Tantrums can be tough to handle and a parenting psychologist has shared some advice about how to deal with a child mid-tantrum and what parents should and shouldn't do No parent relishes the moments when their children have tantrums, yet it's a common occurrence. Toddlers often resort to this behaviour because they lack the verbal skills to express their needs or frustrations. Today (Sunday, July 27) we celebrate Parents' Day, a day to appreciate parents for their unwavering love and commitment to nurturing their children, but it also serves as an opportunity for mums and dads to enhance their parenting techniques, such as managing tantrums. American parenting psychologist Dr Becky Kennedy has offered insights on how to cope with a child's meltdown and what actions to avoid. In a TikTok video posted by Thrive Parenting Network, Dr Kennedy emphasised that a parent's role is " not to end a tantrum ever." She elaborated: "The more energy I put into ending a tantrum the more my kid thinks I'm scared of their tantrum." The child psychology specialist pointed out that when parents attempt to stop a tantrum, they inadvertently project their own anxiety onto their child, resulting in heightened fear and a prolonged, more intense tantrum. She likened a tantrum to a "kind of explosion" and clarified that a parent's duty is to act as a "container" maintaining composure and ensuring the safety of their child. Dr Kennedy went on to say: "When I mean safe, sometimes during tantrums kids will start like throwing things or like I don't know they'll, you know, get something in their room." She emphasised that parents must put an end to certain behaviours, highlighting the significance of the phrase "I won't let you" as opposed to softer alternatives like "we don't" or "please stop". The parenting psychologist illustrated her point with the example: "I'm not gonna let you throw that vase." She went on to explain: "That's the boundary, and then what I'm going to say to myself honestly is like a mantra while I kind of just wait it out. "I might say to myself 'I'm safe, this isn't an emergency, I can cope with this.' That's actually my favourite mantra because the only reason we get activated during our kids' tantrums is because our body kind of confuses whose feelings are whose." She further explained that when parents feel their own bodies becoming unsafe, it's often a reaction to wanting to "shut down" the child's tantrum. Reiterating her advice, she said that reassuring yourself of safety is effective, as the body "responds really well to being told this." The TikTok video has amassed 62,400 views and more than 4,500 likes, along with numerous comments from parents sharing their experiences. One parent remarked: "I like this. It's probably hardest when the tantrum happens in the middle of trying to get a time-sensitive chore or thing done." They added the challenge of dealing with a tantrum while juggling responsibilities: "Like a tantrum in the middle of trying to get to school, after which I need to get to work.." Another expressed gratitude, saying: "Your 'this is not an emergency' line might have made motherhood 1000x better for me." A third shared their struggle: "Keep your body calm sounds so simple but feels impossible in the moment."


Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Air India crash victim's mum horrified as authorities send wrong body back to the UK in a casket
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MUM whose son died in the Air India plane crash has been left horrified after authorities sent the wrong body back to the UK. Amanda Donaghey, 66, was left heartbroken and appalled after DNA evidence proved Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek's casket actually belonged to another victim. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 DNA evidence proved Air India crash passenger Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek's casket actually belonged to another victim Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Fiongal and husband Jamie filmed themselves waiting to board the doomed plane Credit: Instagram 6 All but one passenger died when the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad, India Credit: Reuters Fiongal, 39, had been to India celebrating his wedding anniversary with husband, Jamie, 45. The pair were all set to fly home to Britain on the doomed Flight AI171 when disaster struck just a minute into the journey. Moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, the pilots lost altitude as the plane came crashing towards the ground. Footage captured the moment it smashed into a medical college hostel. A total of 241 passengers and crew plus 19 people on the ground were all killed in the tragedy - including 52 Brits like Fiongal and Jamie. Amanda initially believed the two men had caught a flight home two days earlier until she received an emotional phone call from the dad of Fiongal. A brave Amanda then flew out to India shortly after being told both men were on the plane when it crashed. She went to look for her son or, in the worse case scenario, bring his remains home. She told The Sunday Times: "Visiting the site and seeing it was something I felt like I had to do. I wanted to understand what had happened. "I remember all these burnt trees. The trees were scorched black. But there were still birds and squirrels in those trees, which I found quite profound. How pilots cutting engines sparked TWO plane disasters after South Korea & India crashes as calls for cockpit CCTV grow "It was like a bomb site. You would think it was from a war scene, but there were still these small birds twittering." Hours after the crash, it was confirmed that only one person had survived the accident. Despite the tragedy, Amanda remained determined to help find Fiongal's remains. She gave blood to help find a DNA match before being informed officials had found the body and sent it back to the UK. Jamie had already been identified by this point with both men's families hoping to lay them to rest next to each other. Amanda rushed back to the UK hoping to say her final goodbyes after being assured that Fiongal was in the casket. The family had started to plan Fiongal's funeral when they received a gut-wrenching phone call from the police. A British coroner had completed a second, more thorough DNA test on the remains which were inside the casket. Fiongal's tragic final video A HEARTBREAKING final video posted by Fiongal came just hours before their tragic death in the Air India crash. In the chilling final clip filmed at Ahmedabad airport, Fiongal and Jamie, dressed in floral shirts and visibly happy, reflect on their trip. Fiongal says: "We are at the airport just boarding. Goodbye India. Ten-hour flight back to England. What was your biggest takeaway Jamie?" Jamie responds: "I don't know," prompting Fiongal's laughter and a teasing, "Thanks for your contribution." Fiongal jokes that his main lesson was "don't lose your patience with your partner," to which Jamie smiles and replies, "You snapped at me at the airport for having chai." Passengers mill in the background as Fiongal adds: "I'm going back to Britain happily, happily calm." Earlier social media posts from the couple showed their experiences in Ahmedabad, including a seven-hour car journey to a stunning hotel. In one clip, Fiongal lies on a large bed beside a giant swing, describing the hotel as "beautiful" and saying he felt "very, very happy." Their time in India was captured in a series of posts showing henna tattoos, shopping for fabrics and gifts, and riding in a tuk-tuk through busy streets. On their final night, Fiongal reflected: "So, it's our last night in India and we've had a magical experience. Some mind-blowing things have happened. "We are going to put all this together and create a vlog. It's my first ever vlog about the whole trip and we want to share it." Jamie added: "We have been on quite a journey and then spending our last night here in this beautiful hotel, it's really been a great way to round off the trip." They did not belong to Fiongal. "It was heartbreaking," Amanda said. "We don't know what poor person is in that casket. This is an appalling thing to have happened." Amanda's experience is tragically just one of many parents struggling to find closure after the crash due to a mix up of many caskets. NHS microbiologist Shobhana Patel, 71, and her husband Ashok, 74, both died in the crash. The couple, from Orpington, Kent, were repatriated in different coffins but DNA tests in Britain found other body parts along with Shobhana's. One heartbroken family was even forced to cancel funeral plans due to the mix-up of bodies, the Mail Online reported. And in another harrowing mistake, "commingled" human remains - consisting of body parts of more than one victim - were reportedly packed into a casket before being shipped to the UK. It is thought that only Indian authorities carried out DNA tests on victims with no input from any international agency. India's Ministry of External Affairs said: 'All remains were handled with professionalism.' Brit families previously slammed the chaotic ground operation following the horror smash on June 12. One relative reportedly blasted the "lack of transparency and oversight in the identification and handling of remains". 6 Brit families previously slammed the chaotic ground operation following the horror smash on June 12 Credit: AFP 6 Vishwash Ramesh was the sole survivor of the Air India crash Credit: Dan Charity