This is an interesting but complex paper. Some of the contextualising descriptors suggest a negative view of parental choice re schooling, particularly in relation to schools with a religious character. The authors suggest that there is “limited support for the principle of State funded religious schooling”; a sentiment not born out in a recent Guardian/ICM poll which revealed that, of a pool of more than one thousand respondents, 60% of those surveyed thought children benefit from a faith-based education, while 69% of those with school-age children supported a religious ethos at school. The authors also suggest that almost all capital expenditure is met for faith schools; a point that would be hotly contested by Catholic tax payers who also contribute 10% of the capital costs that the Catholic Church pays for its schools.
At a time when the choice of schools is arguably proliferating with academies, foundation schools and trust schools amongst others, the authors have limited themselves to looking at the question of the impact that faith schools have on competition to improve standards. Despite this sense of incompleteness, Catholic schools are put under the spotlight to examine the impact that they have on competition and its outcomes. Catholic schools should not be held accountable for the response of other schools to raising standards. Rather, Catholic schools exist primarily to give Catholics an opportunity to experience an education rooted in the beliefs and virtues of their faith, and opportunities to live these out in the school setting, contextualising the school’s policies, its curriculum, its expectations of behaviour and the daily experience of school life. Undeniably in the present context of SATs and league tables Catholic schools work hard to get the best from their pupils but the league tables are not the be-all and end-all. Instead, something deeper and longer lasting that is about the development of the pupil as a whole person takes precedent with attainment being but one part of this. In an age when the cult of self and my wants seem to dominate as the arbiter of choice, the Catholic school can seem a refreshing antidote offering pupils, staff and families a much better reference point for their learning and living. Catholic schools remain a very popular choice for parents whilst serving well their own communities and wider society.
