2 days ago
Father criticises school admissions criteria after son denied place at chosen school
A father has criticised the school admissions system after he lost his appeal to get his son into a Church of England faith school.
Adam Grainger says his son is only able to attend church once a month because he can find it stressful due to a diagnosed anxiety disorder.
But to be eligible for a place at a faith school, attendance should be twice a month.
Adam says his 11-year-old son has to sometimes pull his coat over his head due to his social anxiety while in church.
Despite the monthly attendance, the family say they have been told that to get a place at St James's Church of England High School, Farnworth, the youngster needed to have attended church twice a month.
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Instead, Adam's son is set to attend Mt St Josephs School, which is a catholic school also in Farnworth.
"My son has been attending a Church of England church for 18 months, despite the fact it's a very stressful experience for him," Mathew said.
"There's irony in the fact that he has been denied a place at a Church of England school when he has been attending a church of that denomination, but he is being sent to a Catholic school, so religion clearly doesn't matter that much does it?"
Matthew believes the decision to not let his son into the family's desired school could cause further deterioration of the 11-year-old's social anxiety problems.
He added: "His brother is 13 years old, and he attends St James' so it would be better if they could be together as that would be a huge help.
"My 11-year-old's anxiety got worse after his brother started suffering from epilepsy, so he worries about him a lot, and it would help if he could see him in school.
"He's rightfully very protective."
Matthew's son's mum, who he co-parents with, lives within the catchment area for St James'.
The family have appealed the decision to turn down his entry, but were unsuccessful, meaning Matthew's son is on track to attend Mt St Joseph.
"I would just like to add, that this isn't sour grapes, we honestly believe attending the same school as his brother would drastically help with my son's anxiety," Matthew explained.
A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: 'We cannot comment on individual cases.
'However, the school places appeal process is a clear, accessible, and transparent system overseen by an independent panel."
