Plan B Forum

It was built in the 1930s to cater for large numbers of Irish families moving to the area.

Now, in a sign of changing times, a Catholic primary school in Birmingham has an intake that is 90 per cent Muslim.



All pupils at the Rosary Catholic Primary attend Catholic assemblies in the morning and Mass at the nearby church, while crucifixes and statues of the Virgin Mary line the corridors.

But only around 40 pupils out of 400 are Catholics – most of the rest are Muslims of Pakistani origin.

The school is among a few dozen Catholic primaries, mainly in the Midlands and North West, where churchgoing children are now outnumbered by Muslims.

At Rosary, in the Saltley area of Birmingham, some of the pupils’ parents are imams and some live in nearby mosques.

Father Bernard Kelly, the local parish priest and Rosary’s chairman of governors, said: ‘This is a changing parish like all parishes in strong Muslim neighbourhoods.

‘Our school is largely made up of Muslim children whose parents are happy to have them attend a Christian school. For the church, this is a new reality.

‘At school, the pupils hear about the teachings of Jesus but they are not imposed on them.’

He added: ‘I’m sure we will be here in another 80 years’ time. Why not?’

The primary school, along with a church and a secondary school, were set up in the 1930s to serve a large Irish Catholic population.

Eighty years on, the school has been praised by Ofsted for ‘outstanding’ work promoting cohesion among diverse local communities.

John Gubbins, the school’s headmaster, said: ‘We follow the Catholic Diocese programme for religious education which pupils are taught for ten to 15 per cent of the week.’

All pupils, aged three to 11, take part in plays to celebrate Christmas and Easter, while Muslim holy days are also marked.

At the same time, the school provides opportunities for ‘multi-faith prayer’.

Most pupils who arrive at the school do not speak English as their first language.

Mr Gubbins added: ‘When I came here 11 years ago, it was 30 per cent Catholic and 70 per cent Muslim.

‘In September, eight out of our intake of 50 pupils will be Catholic, and many of them are from Polish or African families.’

I guess Muslims are more comfortable with Catholicism than Protestants are?

the school must accept students from it's catchment area. I doubt that there would be enough Catholic kids in the area to fill a single classroom!

loCAtek wrote:
If a child chooses not to have a faith...

Sean wrote:I think Professor Dawkins was more concerned about the fact that these schools are designed to indoctrinate children.

Sean wrote: lo, you still obviously don't know how indoctrination works...

Very well, educate me.