Latest news with #faithschool
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
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. More: Iconic Bolton youth club to be home to one of just 30 specialist pitches More: First class pupils are set to become tomorrow's leaders More: University admissions expert debunks 5 common clearing myths for students 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."
BBC News
06-08-2025
- General
- BBC News
Maidstone school to welcome volunteer pastors to support pupils
A faith school in Kent is to welcome volunteer School Pastors to support its pupils. St Augustine Academy in Maidstone said it was "overjoyed" to be welcoming The School Pastors scheme, an initiative in which volunteers from local churches provide a listening ear to children and extra pastoral chaplain Keeley James said the scheme, which also aimed to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour, was a blessing for students and the wider community.A launch event to recruit volunteers from local churches takes place at Maidstone Baptist Church at 19:00 BST on Wednesday. Ms James added: "This is compassion in action—meeting students where they are and walking alongside them with grace and empathy."It takes courage for a young person to open up, and it takes a strong and loving community to create the kind of safe space where that's possible."About 400 School Pastors currently operate in more than 30 schools across the UK in a scheme run by the Ascension Downes, Street Pastors coordinator for Maidstone and Gravesend, said he thought the scheme was "critical"."The number of people we speak to now with children and grandchildren and everyone says how stressful school is," he Downs said youngsters needed "someone to talk to and listen to them"Newly recruited volunteers will attend funded training in October, ahead of the rollout later this was also the first town in Kent to have Street Pastors, which began operating to support members of the public in the night time economy in Pastors will be supporting pupils between 10:00 and 12:00 every is hoped the scheme will be up and running by the end of 2025.
