Opting for God

‘It’s the same old story — pay or pray,’ said my oldest friend, sardonically, when I told him I was sending my children to a Church of England school. I could hardly blame him for being cynical. He’d known me since we were teenagers, when we were both devout and pious atheists. Yet now I was educating my kids for free, while he was forking out a small fortune to go private. No wonder he felt a bit put out. Since I started going to church again, our friendship has not been quite the same.

For cash-strapped parents, the C of E system is a have-your-cake-and-eat-it solution to an age-old dilemma. Can’t afford school fees? Don’t fancy the look of your local state school? Then go to church, get a letter from your vicar, and bingo — a middle-class education, free of charge.

I can see why my friend felt so disgruntled. The way he saw it, the C of E school system was a racket, a ruse for two-faced mums and dads to get something for nothing. However, my experience of C of E schools, as a pupil and a parent, has been a world away from this stereotype. We all know the case for the prosecution. Here’s the case for the defence.

When I was a kid, my mum took me to our local Anglican church, St Mary’s, in Woolwich in south-east London. I loved that church and so did she, so going to the primary school that shared its name seemed like a natural thing to do. It was a nice school, but it wasn’t remotely posh or difficult to get in to. Then, as now, Woolwich was not the smartest place.

My secondary school, a state grammar, wasn’t a C of E school as such, but the headmaster was an Anglican priest and we had prayers and Bible readings and religious instruction every day.