Open Evening

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As a white person who also attended both events I must admit that there were very few other white parents around for whatever reason. Truthfully, FW has a better mix of children & no-one likes to feel like a fish out of water our lad would probably feel more comfortable at FW as opposed to CHB. We hope we haven't offended anybody - just what we felt on our vists:roll:

[UmSusu]

Each to their own, I suppose. I have to say that as a parent (as British as anyone else), the last thing I would consider when I have an outstanding school in front of me is the ethnic make up of the kids. Nor would I worry about whether my kids are confident enough to make friends with people of other colour. It is always better to be exposed to a mix of backgrounds but I would never reconsider a school because they are all of ethnic minorities or all white.

I should admit that sometimes I can be a bit of a snob about having to socialise with parents who are really common/vulgar in their behaviour but there is no ethnic group can claim to be above this. Besides, what would you do if your kid finds that the only person he has lots in common with is of a different colour ?

[meldan103]

I am white british and attended the open evening. Whilst I noticed there were few white people there, I would have no hesitation in sending my child there, the thought of not sending my child there because of ethnic minority did not cross my mind.

[quasimodo]

It is an interesting discussion in relation to the ethnic make up of certain schools.The one thing that is against schools in Birmingham being predominantly caucasion is demographics.My eldest daughter when she had to do research on the subject advised me by 2020 Birmingham would have a majority ethnic poulation.This is what has happened at a number of schools already.KEFW will be under the same pressure over time.When my youngest dd took her Birmingham consortium exam in September I saw only a handful of white faces out of several hundred.I would prefer my own dd to go to a ethnically mixed school.I am asian. But the overiding factor in chosing the school is the quality of its teaching.I would have to say both KECH Boys and KEFW are both very good schools but in my opinion KECH Boys is better as it gets better exam results.
However to me whatever there ethnic make they are both lousy schools because of their locations.They are both on the wrong side of Birmingham.My dd cant get to them unless she spends over 3 hours on a bus each day.Frankly as a result I don't care if they are black brown or white.

[Midlandsmom]

I am really surprised that the ethnicity of children/families is noticed at all. We have done the rounds of several open days recently (grammar and non) and I can quite honestly say that I haven't noticed and couldn't tell you anything about the other families at any of them. I wasn't really paying attention to them as I was more interested in the school on display! I have spoken to some intelligent children who clearly enjoy school and are good ambassadors and some who quite clearly don't and are not. Again, I have no idea what ethnicity each child was as it wasn't a key consideration so I guess didn't register with me at all. I find it strange that such a thing is noticed and commented on to be honest, as my children attend a very multi cultural primary school where they have friends from all faiths and backgrounds, isn't that usual in most parts of the city? Personally I don't care who my children mix with and make friends with as long as the relationships are based on mutual respect and kindness.

[80's girl]

My ds has just started in yr 7 at CHB, and I am so pleased that he has made lots of new friends, couldn't be happier

He loved the friendliness and the welcoming nature of the school at open day, and this has certainly been the case so far. No cliques, the boys come from a huge number of different schools, someone told me this was around the 80 mark. This is what is important to him, (and us) not ethnicity.

[sbarnes]

Maybe those schools are best served by not having famies to whom race is important; the atmosphere and comraderie at KECHB is second to none. My sons friends greet him in Arabic and there is good banter on all sides. This further adds to the young men's confidence and character. Race has never played a part in any of our discussions, and long may this be the case.

Good luck.

[um]

Those who know me, know that I am telling the truth when I say that from my own children, some are white and some are Asian in appearance.
And that's all it is - appearance.
Which makes this whole conversation completely daft in my humble opinion.
Who cares what colour they came out???? Or anyone else's kids for that matter?
I don't
Just to make a few paranoid people more paranoid, the majority of Birmingham's primary school pupils are ethnic minority.

[southbucks3]

Out of interest why do they greet one another in Arabic, that surely immediately isolates any non Arabic speakers present in the vicinity from being involved in the general pleasantries associated with the greeting?

I don't give a hoot about the ethnic makeup as long as everyone treats one another the same, regardless of colour, religion, financial background or ability.

Sadly this never happens, but they must all learn to jiggle along with one another just as we do in society.

Some schools are targeted by different sections of society, this can escalate until a school has a disproportionate number of children of one race or religion. Taken to the highest extreme this is accepted by the state as official state funded religious schools. When we live in a mixed society, surely the schools should reflect the demographic around them to a large extent otherwise how can we hope to integrate as adults if we are separated as children.
There are two boys grammars in high wycombe, neither properly reflect their catchment demographic, there is one girls grammar and it does...Hmmmm...lack of choice = true reflection?

We cannot force people to integrate, we cannot socially manipulate....We know it simply does not work, but every time someone goes to an open evening and is worried about the mix of children and is therefore put off applying, the fire is further fuelled.

I won't pretend I know the answer, it's far too tricky for me, but as unpopular as it may make me I do think it is incredibly important we all speak the same language in the sane country at all times really ...perhaps I have been reading too much about the Normans for boys homework lately, either that or my building site safety manual.

[um]

Thanks for your contributions.
Please note this is not meant to be an attack at all!
Interesting that you mentioned the Normans...they certainly changed our language and culture completely!
English is made up of many other languages; it is a true melting pot for them. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_E ... _of_origin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If you wish to speak the 'pure' English spoken before 1066, doubtless you would not find a single person in England who understood you.
I can only guess that the poster above was referring to the Salaam. This is a greeting of peace, not just in Arabic, but is very widely used across the entirety of the Asian and African continents as well as obviously in the west now. It has the same root as the Hebrew word, 'Shalom'. I don't see any harm with children being familiar with that word.
I'm really pleased that my own children, as well as obviously having a good understanding of Christianity and its festivals as the main religion of the UK, have developed an understanding of Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism through having very good friends of these faiths. My sons are also aware of Chinese culture and festivities and I remember ds2 going out of his way to find a Chinese New Year card for his friend last year to acknowledge his celebration. That's a good news story and if the grammar schools are becoming more ethnically mixed, it paves the way for even greater understanding and peace between all cultures - I hope.
Knowing a little of other languages is really fun. I lived in South Korea for a while and I'm still pleased that I can remember some basic pleasantries from the language