Supporter comments

"My child had no choice but to go to a faith school - all of the state primary schools near us are faith schools. We eventually placed him in a private school in order to get out of the faith system - not an ideal solution. I really object very strongly to the stranglehold that religion is taking in our children's education. The state system is forcing non-faith families into religious obligations around our children's education. This is unacceptable and contrary to the freedom to follow and practice any religion or none!"

"I was gobsmacked and outraged when they told me I didn't get any of my six chosen choices of schools… I didn't want her to go to a Hindu school so I am surprised the council would think I would accept a faith school which I didn't even apply for."

"I believe that it is harmful for children to be segregated by their parents' beliefs. As a person without a religion, who had not been to a religious school, I was surprised at and disturbed by the level of religious indoctrination in our local state C of E primary school when my children were young, and at the amount of time that was devoted to religious themes."

"My own (atheist) children were taught creationist beliefs in their village primary school (there was no non-faith school we could choose), and that other faiths were essentially primitive. At secondary level, in our nearest town, there are three non-selective schools, two of which are faith schools. These faith schools don't accept children from families with no faith unless the families lie about their lack of faith. Our 'choice' was restricted to one school, therefore, unless our children passed the selective tests for the non-faith grammar schools. The faith schools' admissions criteria therefore massively distort the secondary system here."

"My daughter can't go to her local school because she hasn't been christened. This is discrimination, no matter how it is dressed up!"

"Faith schools leave non-religious parents with a difficult choice. Too frequently you have to either send your child to a school miles away from your home, or send them to your local faith school and have them be educated about things you do not believe in. I went to church as a child, my mother is a church warden, I understand some of the moral advantages of Christian teaching. I just don't want it in my children's schools. Religion belongs in a church, or place of worship."

As a British born Sikh, the first time I felt excluded by society was when applying for primary schools. Despite having faith and regularly attending our local temple, my children were excluded from a primary school that we meet the distance criteria for. This segregation adds to the modern racism, prejudice, and discrimination in our workplaces.

We are a non-religious family, but I sent my son to our local village school because we could walk there. Like all in the area it was CofE. I told him to be respectful of other people's beliefs, but they were not the same back. He was forced into prayers. A couple of years after he started at this school, they changed the admissions criteria so that you had to go to church to get in and we would never have got him into our state funded village school. This is absolutely outrageous.

My son is been placed into a faith school at the secondary school allocations. This was not one of my 6 choices, but no other school is available. The school say that they must attend all Catholic services i.e. Mass, even if they don't pray!