Progress

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now
Sassie'sDad
Posts: 459
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:36 pm
Location: Rugby

Progress

Post by Sassie'sDad »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religio ... hapel.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: Progress

Post by hermanmunster »

What do reckon SD ? Good or Bad?
zorro
Posts: 2076
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:27 am
Location: Barnet, Herts

Re: Progress

Post by zorro »

Bad - I would be really upset if my DS's school did this. His school is Church of England and great emphasis is put on the Christian ethos. They have Chapel 3 times a week and an ordained Chaplain who also teaches Religous Studies(not surprisingly! :roll: )
Last edited by zorro on Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
pheasantchick
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 pm

Re: Progress

Post by pheasantchick »

I'm amazed that a school named St Pauls. and with a long and traditional past has knocked down its chapel. Unless it was old, and unsafe, I can't see why it has done this without any immediate plans for a new place of worship.
doingmybest
Posts: 76
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:53 pm

Re: Progress

Post by doingmybest »

St Pauls is all over the place at the moment. Martin Stephen has stepped down as head because he wasn't happy with the timing of the rebuilding, he wanted it all done in one go, but the govenors want to phase it over years because they are trying to increase the bursary fund so they can admit boys on a "needs blind" basis.
Interestingly, St Pauls didn't convert to Pre-u or IB with all the other top Indys and when he was head Dr Stephen defended A levels. He has written twice in the Daily Telegraph recently, once to say GCSEs are rubbish and once to say that A levels are not fit for purpose! I can see a lot of changes coming to St Pauls over the next few years and I'll be very surprised if they continue sitting A levels.
At DSs prep for the last 2 years it has actually been harder to get into Kings College Wimbledon (IB only school) than it is to get into St Pauls, and for both years twice as many offers were made by St Pauls. Westminster has always been harder, but the gap is widening. Friends from other prep schools have similar stories, but regardless of this St Pauls is still an amazing school with apprx 80 pupils getting Oxbridge offers a year.
Yummiemummie
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 9:02 pm

Re: Progress

Post by Yummiemummie »

Definitely not progress.
push-pull-mum
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:52 pm

Re: Progress

Post by push-pull-mum »

So are they going to rename themselves "Paul's"?

Amazed at the proliferation of schools round here that have saints' names at yet avoid any Christian connection (including both DCren's schools.)
Thingsbehindthesun
Posts: 463
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:25 pm

Re: Progress

Post by Thingsbehindthesun »

Although I'm not christian, I like historical buildings and think they should have kept the chapel regardless. They do have plans to rebuild though.
;D
scary mum
Posts: 8841
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Progress

Post by scary mum »

I suppose it depends why people send their children there. Is it because of the Christian heritage, or is it because it is one of the top schools? I don't know anything about this, but surely if it is an old building it would be protected anyway - surely they can't just knock down a chapel willy-nilly? Have the parents been consulted? Do they mind?
scary mum
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: Progress

Post by mike1880 »

There was nothing historic about it unless you're an ardent admirer of jerry-built 1960s concrete blocks (I'm not). The school moved to the site in 1968.

My son, whose grasp of Church of England doctrine can't be faulted even if he is currently a Communist and an atheist, pointed out to his sister at about the age of 7: "No, ***, the church is the people, not the building". If there's a need and wish for a place of worship then people will make use of what they have, whether it's a nice old medieval building or the bike shed: "Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there shall I be". It doesn't have to be purpose-built, it doesn't have to be old and it certainly doesn't have to be pretty. It isn't about the building.

Mike
Post Reply
11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now