Solihull School

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morris1
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 1:54 pm

Re: Solihull School

Post by morris1 »

Being new to this forum I read with interest the above comments.

Please don't tar us all with the same brush........living in b91 does not make us all racist. It happens everywhere....why bring the BNP into it?!

My 3 children attend one of the Christian schools with is in question regarding admission changes. We are practising Christians and I believe there should be a admission criteria which is adhered to. I do not agree with the changes as I do not wish my children to go to Tudor grange.....although it will benefit some children re location.

Just to throw a question in........I wonder if "faith" would be an issue if all our children had been offered a full fee paying or scholarship place at the school of our choice :?:

We have excellent schools in solihull and are spoilt. We all want the best education.

I suggest religious issues are raised with the school directly......is it appropriate to be on this forum. I for one won't be partaking if this is where it is going. We all have our own views and its a very touchy subject......
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Solihull School

Post by um »

I personally don't see why a parent can't ask for another's views and experiences of a school.
This may be in relation to their child's needs - whether musical, sporty, academic, or even religious.
This forum has seen plenty of discussions about, say, whether Camp Hill Boys is suited to a child who excels at languages and wants to do Classics, or whether KES would suit a boy from a less well-off family.
Why are we so uncomfortable with discussing race and religion too? They play a major part in many children's lives and attitude.
No individuals have been mentioned in the posts above and I don't consider any of them to be defamatory.

3 regular and valued posters have commented above on houseful's query, and I simply wanted to sum up the issue that Solihull School are themselves highly unlikely to be discriminatory toward pupils - after all, they've offered a place, and they didn't have to! but it only takes one or two boys who are prejudiced, to cause a great deal of unhappiness for a child there.
I was hoping we'd have at least one poster who had an 'ethnic minority' child at Solihull School, who could perhaps point to a good and happy experience there - but this has yet to happen on this post.

My comments on the Solihull area were all entirely factual. I did not bring the BNP into it; they brought themselves into it a few years ago by fielding high profile candidates in every ward at the last election and distributing leaflets across Solihull, showing the city skyline being superseded by one resembling Istanbul.

My younger children attend a Solihull Primary School, at which they have never encountered any form of discrimination or racism, and have been welcomed very well.
And as my last post noted, most Solihull residents are not racist.

As a parent, though, I am very, very grateful for the genuine diversity of the Birmingham school that my older boys attend, and for the genuine life-knowledge and experience it will afford them. My ds2 was completing an RE project recently on the concept of God in different faiths - I heard him chatting on the phone with a Hindu friend very respectfully, trying to genuinely understand his beliefs and asking him some great questions. Far better than just sitting on google! Last weekend, he was very keen to send text messages to his Chinese friends to wish them a Happy New Year. Similarly, his friends who are not Muslim understand his fasts in Ramadhan and know about the two Eids.

I'd hope that any school would welcome as much diversity in its intake as it can get, because this diversity reflects the real life situation of the West Midlands and the globalised world in which we live. Knowledge of each other not only brings our communities closer together, but pays off in entirely mercenary terms too - look at a few HSBC advertisements for proof! But I would be naive indeed if I didn't realise that, sadly, some families do not share this view at all, and feel threatened by the presence of children and/or families who are not identical to them in race, religion and dress.
Salander
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 4:11 pm

Re: Solihull School

Post by Salander »

Um, I totally agree with you.
As a practising Christian myself with my children in a predominantly white British school I feel there is nothing wrong in discussing any issues that may affect our children's experience at school, and ultimately then our choice on deciding which school our child goes to.
We all read and may have experienced any type of bullying and how damaging this can be for a child, and although some others do not like the thought of it being an issue it still is and if something like race or religion is the issue of bullying all the worse in my opinion. This should not be tolorated, but it will happen and I for one would prefer to have the opinion of others based on experience to make an informed choice.
No-one is saying it is everyone in that area, it happens everywhere, but I for one would not like to send my child to a school if she was going to be isolated for her religious beliefs or colour.
Salander
KS10
Posts: 2516
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:39 am

Re: Solihull School

Post by KS10 »

It's just another part of the pastoral aspect surely? If you are allowed to ask how a school deals with bullying then you must be allowed to ask rather more searching questions related to bullying. It's a positive step and the fact that we might feel uncomfortable isn't necessarily a bad thing imo as it's simply a way of acknowledging that we don't want to be associated with a particular type of behaviour.
tammy555
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:32 am

Re: Solihull School

Post by tammy555 »

I am considering sending my child to Solihull School. I am a second generation British Asian and my DS third. This topic has taken my interest for obvious reasons. We reside in Birmingham and I have worked in Solihull. I have never experienced or witnessed any form of Racism to date!

I do not deny it does not exist! But often it is a state of mind, possibly even a scapegoat to other underlying issues. I may live to regret these words but for now I have to say that issues around race will not be influencing my decision if I decide to send my DS there.
HappyRobot
Posts: 227
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:02 am

Re: Solihull School

Post by HappyRobot »

Hi

I have been concerned re this thread, so did some digging and am putting my findings here:

1. There are a couple of negative reviews on schoolsnet, but I cannot find a date for them. Does anyone know who wrote them? Could they ask them when they were written?
2. Um's friends ds suffered, so this is an instance that someone trustworthy is reporting.
3. Solihull school has about 20% ethnic minority pupils. I have in fact seen a few noticeable ethnic minorities there, eg a Sikh boy with his long hair, Chinese children.
4. The head girl is called Sanika and is not White British. The deputy head boy last year was called Usama, which I believe is an Asian name.
5. According to the head, any form of discrimination will not be tolerated.
6. Look at this picture of the debating society: http://www.solsch.org.uk/news/?pid=4&nid=3&storyid=26" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
7. I asked a parent that I know who has a mixed race child there, albeit he is light skinned, and he has had no racist problems. She also said that The parents of Asian children in her class had not mentioned to her any problems. She is Indian, so I guess they may feel inclined to mention it to her.

I of course have no personal experience of the school and until a child of mine or a close friends goes.....I can't tell you what it's like exactly.

I don't believe that parents from the school read this forum, but would appeal to anyone to help establish a clear and up-to-date picture of the school.
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