The Sunday Times - Britain

November 21, 2004

Church schools refuse boy who was not baptised
Geraldine Hackett, Education Correspondent



A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy has been forced to stay out of school after two of the primaries close to his home refused him a place because he was not baptised.
Both are church schools that give preference to children with a baptismal certificate even if they live miles outside the catchment area.

The case of Kayne Ogali, who lives in Marylebone, London, highlights the difficulties for parents in areas where there are a high concentration of popular church schools.

When Kayne failed to get into the church schools, which are only a short walk away, his parents applied to five other primaries further afield. But he lived too far away and the schools were filled with children who lived nearer.

His parents, who run a rehabilitation centre for disabled adults, are not religious and feel they have been penalised. They are considering suing Westminster council for failing to provide education for their son.

His mother, Tracy Ogali, said: ?It is just appalling. He has been turned down by these two schools because we are not really religious and all the other primary schools in Westminster are full. We think this is a denial of our son?s right to an education.?

Marina Coleman, headteacher of St Vincent?s Roman Catholic primary, confirmed that the school had turned down the boy because it gave priority to those who were baptised.

?We take Catholic children and we have lots of applications from children who have been baptised,? she said.

They were also refused by St George?s primary, a Church of England school in Mayfair, about a mile from their home.

Malcolm Lothian, its head, said Kayne had been put on a waiting list at his mother?s request, but it was ?highly improbable? that he would get a place.

He said: ?In September we had just 12 places once we had taken the siblings of existing pupils. We do ask for evidence of monthly church attendance and we expect children to have been baptised.?

Unlike community schools, which take the children who live closest, church schools can pick the children of church-goers first. They are only forced to take children from other religions if they have spare places.

The problem has become more severe in recent years because church schools perform comparatively well in league tables and are therefore highly sought after. As a result, the government has been keen to encourage the creation of new church schools, especially in the secondary sector.

Last week Westminster council said it was attempting to find a school for Kayne in January, the start of the next term.